Peace & Justice News

International Relations Center (IRC)
http://www.irc-online.org/

Introducing the latest policy analysis from International Relations Center

War Crimes: The Posse Gathers
By Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith

Diverse forces are assembling to bring Bush administration officials to account for war crimes. Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Mother for Peace, insists: “We cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail.” Paul Craig Roberts, Hoover Institution senior fellow and assistant secretary of the treasury under Ronald Reagan, charges Bush with “lies and an illegal war of aggression, with outing CIA agents, with war crimes against Iraqi civilians, with the horrors of the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo torture centers” and calls for the president’s impeachment. Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton and former president of the American Society of International Law, declares: “These policies make a mockery of our claim to stand for the rule of law. [Americans] should be marching on Washington to reject inhumane techniques carried out in our name.”

Can such disparate forces as the peace movement, conservative advocates of the rule of law, and human rights advocates join to halt high government officials demonstrably engaged in criminal enterprise? Can they reach out and appeal to the deep but vacillating commitment of the American people to the national and international rule of law? Or will the Bush administration divide the posse and retain for itself the mantle of defender of international law and the U.S. Constitution?

Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith, with Jill Cutler, are the co-editors of In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond (New York: Metropolitan/Holt, 2005) http://www.americanempireproject.com and co-founders of War Crimes Watch. They are frequent contributors to Foreign Policy In Focus ( http://www.fpif.org ).

See new IRC commentary online at:
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/2970

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://fpif.org/pdf/papers/0512posse.pdf

Torture Degrades Us All
By Ben Saul

In recent times, it has become fashionable to regurgitate old arguments in favor of torture, without fully thinking through the human implications of making such statements. Not only lawyers for the U.S. government, but academics from Harvard Law School and Deakin Law School in my own country of Australia have argued for torture.

Torture is as old as law itself; it was used in ancient Rome as in medieval Europe, French Algeria, and Northern Ireland, and now still in over 100 countries. It is not surprising that arguments for torture have reappeared in a time of crisis (or perceived crisis) for western countries, when some people instinctively reach for more legal powers, seemingly blind to the history of past emergencies where torture was deemed unnecessary.

For those who think we live in an age of terror, it is intuitively appealing to believe that torturing one person to save many is the right thing to do. Discussion of torture should not be taboo, but arguments for it must withstand moral scrutiny. The legal meaning of “torture” was drafted by human hands; it is therefore fallible and cannot merely be accepted as divine truth – particularly if the definition of torture is too weak.

Terrorism does not demand that we torture to defend ourselves. To the contrary, the threat of terrorism reminds us of the importance of protecting human dignity, even of terrorists. Law necessarily draws moral lines in the sand which cannot be crossed; the inevitability of torturing the innocent is a price too high to pay to save the lives of others.

Arguments against torture are not based on alarmism, moral absolutism, or rhetoric. The consequences of forcibly violating the body and the mind are profound and signal an unnecessary return to the blunt techniques of medieval justice. Torture irreparably damages human dignity, devalues human life, and corrupts the institutions of our democracy.

Ben Saul ( http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/staff/SaulB/ ) is a lecturer in the Faculty of Law ( http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/ ) at the University of New South Wales, the director of the Bills of Rights Project
http://www.gtcentre.unsw.edu.au/projects_partners/projects/bor/index.asp at the Gilbert & Tobin Centre of Public Law, and a regular contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus ( http://www.fpif.org ).

See new IRC commentary online at:
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/2974

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://fpif.org/pdf/papers/0512torture.pdf

Iraq Strategy: Still AWOL, Still Costly
By Col. Daniel Smith, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Some of Bush’s November 30 speech at Annapolis seemed as old as Vietnam. Johnson, appearing before a friendly audience, tried to explain the nature of the Vietnam War, why the United States was there, and the war’s objectives, ending with a vision of Vietnam’s economic development within a larger world order. Johnson said he regretted the “waste of war,” noting however that often it had to precede “the works of peace.” By that April 7, 1965, just 400 U.S. troops had died in Vietnam.

Bush, under growing criticism across the political spectrum, also chose a friendly audience at the Naval Academy for his latest attempt to define and defend what the White House terms its “stay the course” strategy in Iraq. Unfortunately, maintaining the status quo is not and never has been a strategy. Moreover, as is evident from what Bush doesn’t say, he seems to be disconnected from the real world of real war and real politics in Iraq today – and hence somehow not responsible.

Accusing the terrorists of making Iraq the “central front in their war against humanity,” he calls Iraq “the central front in the war on terror.” Nowhere does he acknowledge that before March 20, 2003, no al-Qaida or other non-Iraqis were fighting in Iraq.

Dan Smith is a military affairs analyst for Foreign Policy In Focus (online at http://www.fpif.org ), a retired U.S. Army colonel, and a senior fellow on military affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

See new IRC commentary online at:
http://fpif.org/fpiftxt/2972

With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://fpif.org/pdf/gac/0512awol.pdf

Produced and distributed by International Relations Center (IRC). For more information, visit http://www.irc-online.org/. If you would like to receive specific topic or regional material from either FPIF ( http://www.fpif.org/ ) or the Americas Program ( http://www.americaspolicy.org/ ), please email: communications@irc-online.org, with “subscribe” in the subject line and giving your area of interest.


International Relations Center (IRC)
http://www.irc-online.org/
Siri D. Khalsa
Outreach Coordinator
Email: communications@irc-online.org
PO Box 2178
Silver City, NM 88062


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545


From ufpj-news

--------

The Posse Gathers: Bush War Crimes:

The task is now upon us all to better understand the criminality of our government's aggression and, as citizens, to act accordingly to demand that our government adheres to international law."

http://www.counterpunch.com/brecher12062005.html

Rep. Henry A. Waxman lays down the key facts about the reconstruction which he describes as "an enormous boondoggle" - not an example of "quiet, steady progress." Senator Russ Feingold's statement follows with equal criticism of the president's speech, pointing out that "the president does not understand that his Iraq policies are preventing us from succeeding in our larger campaign against global terrorists."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705A.shtml

Leaders from around the world are meeting right now in Montreal on new steps to cut the pollution that is causing global warming. They are beginning the crucial discussion about how the Kyoto Protocol will work in the next phase of its implementation, beyond the year 2012.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration is not only keeping the US from joining in these negotiations, it is also actively working to undermine talks among other nations, halting global progress on post-2012 plans. Instead of joining with the world to build a solution, the US is blocking the Montreal negotiations. The US needs to lead the world, not obstruct progress on this important issue.

The negotiator’s official actions run counter to the needs and desires of the American people. Governors, mayors and corporate leaders are taking action to protect public health, create new jobs and cut global warming pollution. Faith leaders, workers and farmers are demanding more action from the administration and Congress. Even in Washington a bipartisan majority of the Senate passed a resolution last June calling for mandatory legislation to “slow, stop and reverse” the growth of dangerous heat-trapping pollution. Americans are already taking action to stop climate change, and we need our administration to join in the process.

It’s time for the U.S to join the world in recognizing the promise of clean energy solutions. We need real leadership from our representatives in Washington. It is time for the Bush Administration to quit stonewalling and for the US Senate to pass legislation that will place real limits on global warming pollution.

We appreciate your help in this call to action.

Sincerely yours,

Ted Glick and Tom Stokes

Climate Crisis Coalition

== What to do ==

Contact your Senators right away and urge them to speak out publicly to support positive U.S. action in Montreal and for mandatory action to slow, stop and reverse global warming pollution in the U.S. Ask them to send a message to the White House to let the Kyoto Protocol move forward and to stop blocking negotiations for global action in Kyoto’s next phase after 2012.

With the assistance of Working Assets we have provided you a quick and easy way to do this. If you go to
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=20026&afccode=climate, you will find a quick and easy way to email your U.S. Senators, with copies going to your Congressperson, Senate Majority Leader Frist, Senate Minority Leader Reid, and President Bush. The Working Assets site will also provide you with appropriate emails for letters to the editor in your area. If you could adapt the letter to your Senators (copied below) to a letter to the editor this would also be much appreciated.

These letters will not only draw much-needed attention to what is happening at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal, but they will also help advance the process of making the climate crisis a decisive issue in next year’s Congressional races.


Sample Letter to Your Senators

Dear Senator:

I am writing to urge you to take action to engage the United States in the important climate negotiations in Montreal. Action at the local, state, national and international levels is needed to address this, one of the single greatest challenges of our generation. I am outraged that the Bush Administration is blocking progress on international action to reduce global warming pollution. Please lead our country in the right direction:

1. Speak out publicly to support positive US action in Montreal. Please hold a press conference, make a Floor statement, and sign on to Congressional statements in recognition of this issue’s importance.

2. Support legislation for mandatory action to slow, stop and reverse global warming pollution in the US.

3. Call on the White House to let the Kyoto Protocol move forward and to stop blocking negotiations for global action in Kyoto’s next phase after 2012.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the National Academy of Sciences have concluded that the continued buildup of global warming pollution in the atmosphere threatens the stability of the global climate, threatening the economy, public health and the environment of the United States and the world.

I’m counting on you to protect American families by supporting global progress on this critical issue.

It’s time that the U.S. to take the lead. Engage the USA now.

Thank you and best regards,


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545


From ufpj-news

EXCLUSIVE: POTENTIAL SECURITIES FRAUD CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST DIEBOLD IN PROGRESS! By Brad Friedman BradBlog December 7, 2005

http://www.bradblog.com/

Documents and comments provided by Company Insiders suggest Diebold could be the next Enron as All-New Legal Troubles Mount for Voting Machine Giant...

Additional Individual, Union Owners of Diebold Stock, Mutual Funds Sought for Addition to Plaintiff Class


The BRAD BLOG has received exclusive detailed information about a developing potential class action securities litigation against Diebold, Inc. (stock symbol: DBD). The class for the suit will involve shareholders who purchased or owned stock in the Ohio-based company any time from October 22, 2003 though September 21, 2005.

Though we are not at liberty at this time to discuss the specifics of the potential litigation and the causes of action in the complaint being compiled, The BRAD BLOG has learned that the class action lawsuit, currently being drawn up, will involve securities fraud violations and other troubling matters for the controversial company, its CEO as well as current and former members of its Board of Directors.

VelvetRevolution.us http://www.VelvetRevolution.us/ (an organization co-founded by BRAD BLOG managing editor, Brad Friedman) is seeking additional individuals and groups who may qualify as plaintiffs in the specified class. Those who owned or purchased Diebold stock, or mutual funds which carried Diebold during the period mentioned, are asked to contact
LawSuit@VelvetRevolution.us where information submitted may be turned over to attorneys for possible addition to the plaintiff class.

Union groups who own or owned shares of Diebold or mutual funds which invest in the company are specifically urged to contact VR about joining the class action.

The mutual funds which are most heavily invested in Diebold are listed here http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=DBD . Information on "Insider Transactions" is listed here.

Diebold, Inc. is the controversial Voting Machine and ATM manufacturer who was recently compared to Enron by an anonymous company insider The BRAD BLOG dubbed "DIEB-THROAT" in a series of exclusive reports http://www.BradBlog.com/Diebold.htm . The Internet news site, RAW STORY ran a new exclusive interview with DIEB-THROAT yesterday

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Diebold_insider__alleges_company_plagued_1206.html revealing additional details on the inner-workings of the company and potential legal issues they may face.

Shortly after our first report on DIEB-THROAT
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001838.htm , Diebold's stock price plummeted some 15.5%. The company attributed their troubles at the time to shortfalls in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and on the same day announced the resignation of their chief operating officer (COO) and President, Eric C. Evans. Our source, DIEB-THROAT, challenged the company's response to the falling stock prices in the wake of lower than expected earnings by suggestion that "Using Hurricane Katrina is a poor excuse for bad products - the last time this kind of deception occurred it was called Enron."

Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell has come under harsh criticism for his statement to Republican fundraisers that Diebold was committed to delivering the electoral vote of the state of Ohio to George W. Bush prior to the 2004 Presidential Election. O'Dell was part of Bush's "Rangers and Pioneers," a group of individuals who had raised at least $100,000 each for Bush/Cheney's 2004 re-election campaign.

As well, the company has been facing other mounting troubles, legal and in the court of public opinion, over their implementation of software, hardware and various Elections Systems contracts around the United States as has been reported in have charged the company may be in violation of a court order stemming from that agreement. In North Carolina, Diebold recently lost an attempt in the court system to receive exemption from parts of a state law requiring the escrow of their voting system's software source code. They were certified anyway the next day in North Carolina, and some activists have questioned whether or not the certification was done according to state law and whether or not new legal proceedings may be launched there. And in California, a debate rages on concerning the possible re-certification of Diebold's touch-screen voting machines here after some 20% of their machines failed in a recent mock election test.

According to internal "Privileged and Confidential" documents of "Attorney Work Product" originally obtained and reported by Ian Hoffman of The Oakland Tribune in 2004, an estimate of legal costs in California for the Voting Machine giant was pegged by their attorneys at $535,000 - $925,000 for just a single two month period in order to fight mounting legal troubles in the state. Diebold's law firm, Jones Day fought in Los Angeles County Superior Court to keep those leaked memos from being further circulated.

The document estimating legal expenses
http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper190/ActionandBudget.pdf lists costs in regard to the Qui Tam Action filed (and eventually settled) by election watchdogs at BlackBoxVoting.org, the costs for fighting "Criminal Exposure" such as "legal analysis of potential criminal violations" and "White collar criminal law attorney pre-grand jury investigative advice" and even costs to the firm to "Monitor selected Web sites to gain key intelligence."

Concerning the potential of a new lawsuit against the company, DIEB-THROAT is not surprised, and expressed hopes to The BRAD BLOG in a recent email that some good may come from the possibilities of upcoming litigation:

"The denial of every documented problem with Diebold's voting system was bound to unravel sooner or later. I am not surprised that such a lawsuit has developed [as] the company consistently offered Wall Street deceptive information. Perhaps with the help of few patriotic plaintiffs our nation will be saved from Diebold's corporate takeover of our right to vote - and have that vote counted free from corporate and political influence."

The BRAD BLOG will, of course, continue to follow this story as it develops...


Informant: NHNE

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/12/07/051207182757.ht1oak7y.html


Informant: NHNE

Breaking a tradition of openness that began in 1816, the Bush administration has without explanation withheld the names and work locations of about 900,000 of its civilian workers, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

http://tinyurl.com/atysh


From Information Clearing House

James Tobin, President Bush's onetime New England campaign chairman, is being tried on one federal count of conspiring against voters' rights and several counts involving telephone harassment. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

http://tinyurl.com/abo53


From Information Clearing House

The hypocrisy of the US war on terrorism is revealed by its treatment of my husband.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11236.htm

Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot has said the comments by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about secret CIA flights and detention centers for terrorist suspects outside the United States were "unsatisfactory," Dutch news agency ANP reported Tuesday.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/06/content_3886226.htm


From Information Clearing House

Major R. John Stukey, a US Army doctor who served in Baghdad from January to June, says he personally treated about a dozen men who had been tortured and observed an environment of overcrowding and neglect.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1207/p01s02-woiq.html


From Information Clearing House

An official of the Oil Ministry in Baghdad said: “We do not know the exact quantity of oil we are exporting, we do not exactly know the prices we are selling it for, and we do not know where the oil revenue is going to.”

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=13770


From Information Clearing House

Former President Jimmy Carter says he doubts whether the US military will ever completely pull out of Iraq, despite what the Bush administration says about a possible withdrawal beginning next year.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11235.htm

By Manuel Valenzuela

With Americans watching so much television on a weekly basis, discarding books of enlightenment for monitors of idiocy, preferring the drug of fantasy over the sobering realm of reality, no longer capable of analytical, logical thought, choosing to incorporate as their own the views, beliefs and opinions of corporate media, the keepers at the gate are free to do as they please, disseminating lies, distortions, manipulations, propaganda and fictions into our homes and the minds of our family, young and old, never discriminating and always flowing in the interest of the Establishment.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11242.htm

Reality vs. the Rhetoric

By S. Brian Willson

Instead of the recent euphemism "illegal combatants," the United State in Vietnam claimed prisoners were "criminal" and therefore exempt from Geneva Convention protections. The use of torture as a function of terror, or its equivalent in sadistic behavior, has been historic de facto U.S. policy.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11238.htm

By Harold Pinter

Video and text of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech

The 2,000 American dead are an embarrassment. They are transported to their graves in the dark. Funerals are unobtrusive, out of harm's way. The mutilated rot in their beds, some for the rest of their lives. So the dead and the mutilated both rot, in different kinds of graves.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11239.htm

Report:

A Vietnamese doctor with experience in treating avian flu says Tamiflu, the drug being stockpiled for treatment of avian flu, is useless against the virus.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120705HB.shtml

The nation's premier science organization urged Congress on Tuesday to consider restricting the marketing of junk food to children since food companies appear unwilling to do it themselves, thereby upping the stakes in the national obesity debate.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120705HA.shtml

While Bush refuses to accept the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse gas emissions, at least 40 million Americans will find themselves bound to the international treaty to curb global warming. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has convinced 192 cities to agree to cut emissions 7 percent from 1990 levels by 2012.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120705EB.shtml

Dr. James Hanson, the scientist who first raised the alarm about global warming, says the planet will be irrevocably damaged within a decade if greenhouse gases continue to be produced at current levels. The US, which is not a signatory to the Kyoto global warming protocol, has blocked moves towards limits on carbon emissions.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120705EA.shtml

Wir von der 1. Kavalleriedivision im Irak richten diese Botschaft an unsere Familien, an Senatoren, Kongressabgeordnete und an alle Personen mit Lebenserfahrung in der Heimat. Es gibt keine Worte für das, was wir hier erleben. Wir haben viele unserer liebsten Freunde und Kameraden verloren, und wir verlieren sie weiterhin. Es ist, als kämpften wir hier gegen Geister, und es gibt keine Aussichten auf einen Sieg. Die Lage wird nur immer schlimmer!

Bedenkt, dass wir gegen Menschen kämpfen, die den Tod nicht fürchten! Sie glauben, wir tun ihnen einen Gefallen, denn der Tod verkürzt den Abstand zwischen ihnen und dem Paradies. Zusätzlich sinkt unsere Moral von Tag zu Tag, denn wir sind Zeugen der wachsenden Zahl von Toten und Verwundeten. Die veröffentlichten Zahlen sind viel niedriger als in Wahrheit. Unnötig zu erwähnen, dass wir unter der Reduzierung von Gütern zur Grundversorgung leiden: Gas, Wasser, Nahrung, Hygienebedarf. Wir traten zwar freiwillig in die Armee ein, doch niemals kam uns die besondere Gefahr in den Sinn, die wir hier erleben. Das würde uns nichts ausmachen, wenn dieser Krieg einem guten und gerechten Zweck diente. Doch wir wissen jetzt, dass dieser Krieg nur deshalb angefangen wurde, um die Gier einiger weniger Leute zu befriedigen, die ihre Kinder niemals hierher gesandt hätten, um das zu erleben, was wir erleben. Wir senden euch diese Botschaft, und wir vertrauen nicht darauf, dass wir bald eine neue schreiben können. Wir fühlen, dass der Tod hinter jeder Ecke auf uns wartet.

Unser Feind ist da draußen und wartet darauf, uns zu jagen. Wir erhielten sogar Drohbotschaften über unser inneres E-Mail-Netzwerk. Gerade gestern erhielten wir die folgenden: (Aufzählung von Web-Links). O Gott, hilf uns, hier herauszukommen! Wir fordern euch auf, diese Botschaft auf allen Ebenen zu verbreiten, und wir hoffen, in einem Stück heimzukehren und nicht in einem Leichensack.

Hochachtungsvoll

Eure Söhne und Töchter


G.Wendebourg / metainfo hamburg

Link zum Beitrag / Hintergrundinfo oder Pressehinweis:
http://www.hh-online.com?lid=23136 und
http://links.net-hh.de?lid=23136

Infopool / metainfo hamburg www.hh-online.com

Sonoma County land considered for protection cut by two-thirds; final decision due Dec. 1

Friday, November 18, 2005

By BLEYS W. ROSE

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

In a partial victory for development interests, federal officials said Thursday they are reducing by two-thirds the parts of Sonoma County that could fall under federal protections for the tiger salamander.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051118/NEWS/51118001/1033/NEWS01

Related: Searched for 'salamander' Results 1 - 10 of about 10.

http://google.pressdemocrat.com/search?q=salamander&btnG=Go%21&site=press_democrat&client=Press_FrontEnd&proxystylesheet=Press_FrontEnd&output=xml_no_dtd&filter=0&sort=D%3AS%3Ad1

Feds shrink potential salamander habitat

... Feds shrink potential salamander habitat. Sonoma County land considered for protection cut by two-thirds; final decision due Dec.
1. Friday, November 18, 2005. ... County OKs plan to protect salamander

... County OKs plan to protect salamander. Proposal ... Dec. 1 on how much land in Sonoma County to designate as critical habitat for the salamander. ...


Letters to the Editor

... 26 article, "Price tag to save tiger salamander," the population counts suggest that the California tiger salamander is but a subset of the region's salamander ... Letters to the Editor

... 26 article, "Price tag to save tiger salamander," the population counts suggest that the California tiger salamander is but a subset of the region's salamander ... Residential building starts to rebound

... higher. Then there is the California tiger salamander. ... years. Still, the plan hinges on setting aside areas elsewhere for salamander habitat. ... Letters to the Editor

... I found a copy of The Press Democrat, which I use to keep me warm, and was relieved to know that it would cost $336 million to save the tiger salamander. ... Letters to the Editor

... has only marginally improved with builders citing as primary obstacles less and more costly land and continued delays related to the California tiger salamander ... What a difference a year makes

... development in southwest Santa Rosa -- the biggest in 10 years -- and a compromise possible on protecting the development-stopping tiger salamander, there may ... Interchange work may start in '06

... or three years, Akkawi said. Remaining hurdles include protecting the tiger salamander habitat, he added.


Informant: STRIDER

From: Kathy Guthrie
kathyguthrie@fcnl.org [FCNL]

The Bush administration this week publicly attempted to narrow the definition of torture and limit the responsibility of individuals working for the U.S. government to prevent torture from taking place. But U.S. military leaders and many members of Congress from both parties are refusing to stand aside while fundamental rights are eroded.

Behind-the-scenes arguments came dramatically into public view recently when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld argued that military personnel have no obligation to intervene when they personally witness torture taking place by officials of other, sovereign governments. Standing next to Rumsfeld at a press conference last week, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, responded: "It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it.”

But the secretary of defense didn’t agree: “I don’t think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it.” In a rare, direct, public confrontation, Gen. Pace stood his ground: “If they [U.S. soldiers] are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it," Pace told the secretary of defense.

Following this exchange, The Washington Post reported that the secretary of defense has asked the Pentagon to review guidelines for soldiers operating in these conditions. Read a letter from FCNL’s Col. Dan Smith (USA Ret.) to Gen. Pace supporting Pace’s position at
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1645&issue_id=67

This public debate within the executive branch on appropriate responses to torture comes as the U.S. government has come under new scrutiny by European governments. The European Union expressed concern about public reports that the U.S. is holding some prisoners in secret prisons in Eastern Europe without granting them access to legal counsel or the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and other areas of the world are part of a shadowy network of detention and interrogation facilities set up by the U.S. government to circumvent legal restrictions on interrogation, torture, and due process of law, according to reports from Human Rights Watch and some press accounts. Read a Human Rights Watch report on government treatment of detainees at
http://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=1644&issue_id=70

But the public disclosure of these facilities and the acknowledgment by Secretary of State Condolezza Rice that these facilities have been used in Europe have persuaded some European governments to call for the shut down of these secret prisons.

The public debate on interrogation, torture, and secret detention facilities has persuaded many members of Congress to support legislation offered by Sen. John McCain (AZ) that would establish clear guidelines for interrogation that prohibit torture. The New York Times reported December 7 that the White House has “all but abandoned its effort to persuade Sen. McCain to exempt Central Intelligence Agency employees from legislation barring inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners in American custody.” If true, that is a victory on which we can and must build.

Although we citizens should be able to take for granted that our government opposes and strenuously prohibits torture, we cannot. Our government officials are engaged in an intense debate whether some agents of the U.S. government should be able to engage in some types of torture of certain kinds of suspects. Now the White House is seeking to limit the penalties imposed on U.S. government personnel who engage in torture.

The public outcry against torture is strengthening the hand of those within the U.S. government who oppose torture and want to prohibit its use.We want to encourage all our FCNL constituents to back them up with informed comment and with encouragement to sustain government advocates of a world free from the threat of torture. Read more about these issues at

http://www.fcnl.org/issues/issue.php?issue_id=67


The Next Step for Iraq: Join FCNL's Iraq Campaign
http://www.fcnl.org/iraq/

Contact Congress and the Administration:
http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/


Informant: Martin Greenhut

Exprimez-vous, c'est une émission nationale en directe ! Pour "c'est au programme" de FR2 sur les Portables et le antennes relais, ce 9 décembre à 9h30 vous pouvez appeler actuellement le 0 826 00 7000 (015€ la minute soit 1Fr).

Citez dans vos interventions les noms des principales associations, Priartem, Robin des toits, Teslabel (belgique) et Next-up. Soutenez le projet de loi qui est déposé à l'Assemblée Nationale, celui-ci ne remet pas en cause la téléphonie mobile, mais il est conforme à une vraie politique de salubrité publique. Dites qu'il existe des études officielles du Parlement Européen, co-financées par l'Etat Français, comme par exemple l'étude REFLEX qui démontre la rupture d'ADN (page168 à 171 et suivantes du rapport) dont on ne parle pas, etc.

Bien à vous tous.

ASL

Most of Congress's black lawmakers will oppose the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, officials said Wednesday.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120805N.shtml

Rice has been engulfed by criticism over reports that CIA planes used airports in Europe as stopovers while transporting prisoners to secret interrogation sites.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120805K.shtml

Although Bush administration officials have denied that they transfer terrorism suspects to countries where they are likely to be abused, a classified memorandum described in a court case indicates that the Pentagon has considered sending a captured militant abroad to be interrogated under threat of torture.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120805J.shtml

Wie von der Süddeutschen Zeitung mitgeteilt, wurden die europäischen Gefängnisse der CIA kurz vor dem Besuch von Außenministerin Rice geräumt. Nach Angaben aus Washingtoner Geheimdienstkreisen sind diese Häftlinge und andere Insassen außer ihnen, die Verhör und Folter erwarten, nun in marokkanischen Geheimgefängnissen untergebracht.

Die marokkanischen Geheimgefängnisse der CIA wurden offensichtlich eingerichtet als Ergebnis eine Deals, der der marokkanischen Regierung die amerikanische Unterstützung bei der Aufrechterhaltung der illegalen Besatzung der früheren Kolonie spanisch Sahara. Als Gegenleistung erreichte die amerikanische Regierung anscheinend die Überlassung von ehemaligen Gefängnissen, in denen Koenig Hassan II seine Gefangenen folterte. Diese Folterverliese sind vermutlich unzugänglich im Atlas-Gebirge lokalisiert, wo sie nur per Hubschrauber erreicht werden können. Die frühere spanische Kolonie der westlichen Sahara ist reich an Bodenschätzen und deshalb verständlicherweise von bedeutendem Interesse für Marokkos Koenig Mohammed IV. Die geheimdienstliche Zusammenarbeit mit den USA war seit langer Zeit einvernehmlich und von beiderseitigem Vorteil der Regierungen geprägt.


G.Wendebourg / metainfo hamburg

Link zum Beitrag / Hintergrundinfo oder Pressehinweis: http://www.hh-online.com?lid=23148 und
http://links.net-hh.de?lid=23148

Infopool / metainfo hamburg www.hh-online.com

Gegen Referendum: Menschrechtsorganisationen fordern Kreditstopp für Goldabbau (08.12.05)

Die entwicklungspolitischen Organisationen FIAN, MISEREOR und Urgewald fordern die deutsche Bundesregierung auf, ihre Unterstützung für Weltbank-Projekte an die Einhaltung von Menschenrechtsstandards zu binden. Aktuell bedrohten Goldprojekte in Guatemala und Ghana die Menschenrechte auf Nahrung, Wasser, Gesundheit und saubere Umwelt von über 10.000 Menschen, schreiben die Organisationen. Grundsätzlich solle sich die Regierung dafür einsetzen, dass die Weltbank keine neuen Kredite für Goldminen vergibt.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12477

"Outsourcing von Folter": Rice spricht mit Freunden über CIA-Einsätze (08.12.05)

US-Außenministerin Condoleezza Rice erwartet Verständnis von den europäischen Partnern für das Vorgehen des US-Geheimdienstes CIA "im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus". Rice betonte am Donnerstag bei einem Besuch in Brüssel, sie und ihre EU-Amtskollegen hätten "als Freunde" über den umstrittenen "Umgang mit Häftlingen" geredet. Bei dem gemeinsamen Essen am Mittwochabend habe man sich Zeit für eine ausführliche Diskussion genommen. FDP-Chef Guido Westerwelle bezichtigte die ehemaligen Bundesminister Schily und Fischer einer strafbaren Handlung wegen der Nichtanzeige einer Verschleppung und somit eines Verbrechens.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12474

Steuern rauf, Leistungen runter - die große "Koalition der neuen Möglichkeiten" und ihre Politik.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21512/1.html

Action Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland
Date: Friday 16th December 2005
Time: 11:05 AM to 11:30 AM
Duration: 25 minutes.

Series highlighting campaigns and issues in Scotland. This week Phil Goodland follows a North Ayrshire community's campaign to prevent a phone mast being built next door to an award winning primary school.

Repeated 6:00AM Saturday 17th December 2005

Programme Webpage:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/radioscotland/view/show.shtml?action_scotland

Listen Again link (available after broadcast)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radioscotland_aod.shtml?scotland/feature1_sat or rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/scotland/radioscotland/demand/dailyfeature/rs_feature1_sat.rm

(bypasses BBC's dreadful player, and uses Real Audio Player if already installed on your PC).

Reportage JT 19/20 FR3 LIMOUSIN du 06 décembre 2005
http://www.next-up.org/videos/JTfr3-06-12-2005.php

Emission "on a tout essayé" FR2 19h 08 décembre 2005
http://www.next-up.org/videos/on_a_tout_essaye_fr2_08122005.php

We can win nothing in Iraq. We can only hope to survive the incredible disaster that has been foisted upon us. Rejecting the premise of "winning" is the first step toward that survival. Rejecting wrong-headed, deliberately misleading GOP talking points would be a good idea as well. Getting out of Iraq is the only sane, sensible, responsible course of action. Any Democrats who hope to be president should heed this. They are ten steps behind the rest of the country, and when they buy into the nonsense, they only ensure their electoral doom.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120805Y.shtml

by Robert Reich, TomPaine.com

There's a fight in Congress between the upper-middle class and the super-rich.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051208/class_warfare_with_taxes.php

--------

Class Warfare with Taxes

Tax bills now wending their way through the House and Senate would cut about $60 billion in taxes next year and allow a two-year extension on stock dividends and capital gains.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/121105G.shtml

THE CHAIR OF governors at a Bromsgrove school is urging residents to come forward and show their displeasure at proposed plans to add three more phone antennas to a mobile phone mast site near to the school.

Nigel Marns, governor at St John’s School, Watt Close and Revd at St John’s church spoke to The Standard the morning after a governors’ meeting held to discuss the antennas that Vodafone plan to put on the site.

Mr Marns said he believed the site at Perryfields Telephone Exchange on Hanover Street had already got too many masts and any more would cause a health risk to the children.

He said: “Enough is enough and we should oppose this proposal.”
Coun Rita Dent said she wanted more residents to come forward and show their feelings.

“As yet we are not aware of the health implications of these masts and we do not think they should be adding anymore masts on the sites.”

A Vodafone spokesperson said he understood developments of this kind sometimes caused concern, and added that base stations and masts operated well within the strict safety guidelines endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Omega read "Base Stations, operating within strict national and international Guidelines, do not present a Health Risk?" under: http://omega.twoday.net/stories/771911/

“Local residents who might be interested in this development should contact our Community Relations Team by phone on 0845 601 4815 or by emailing: community.relations@ngridwireless.com .”

http://www.bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/news/default1.asp?id=1503

From: Ricardo Ocampo

*LuxWeb* Iberamerican Web of Light Free New Info Selection Services Anahuak Radiant Centre
http://www.laneta.apc.org/redanahuak
http://www.egroups.com/community/luxweb/archives

From: Jose Medhina Awad
Date: Wed, 07 Dec 2005 03:26:48 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Urgent Action Today: Reject Court Stripping Amendment!

Please write your representatives and the members of the House and Senate Armed Services and Judiciary Committees to tell them to strip the Graham-Levin Amendment from the Military Authorization Bill and preserve the right to habeas corpus and judicial oversight. They will be ironing out the differences in the Senate and House versions of the bill tomorrow, Wednesday, December 7, 2005. PLEASE WRITE NOW!

This will be the third action alert we’ve sent you about this disastrous Amendment that would strip the courts of the right to hear habeas corpus petitions from the detainees at Guantánamo. And we may send a fourth. It’s difficult to make habeas corpus sound sexy, but it is perhaps the most fundamental right we have and the basis for our entire system of justice, dating back 800 years. Simply put, it’s what keeps the government from being able to lock people up and throw away the key. It guarantees the right to know the charges against you and to challenge your detention in a court of law. It is the basis of the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution.

If we do not stop the Graham Levin amendment now, what starts with foreign detainees at Guantánamo will carry over to the rest of us and our rights here at home. There is already additional legislation in committee that seeks to curtail habeas rights for domestic criminal prisoners. In addition, any ground gained by the McCain Amendment forbidding the use of torture becomes meaningless if the detainees have no access to an attorney and no way to protest their abuse in court.

Last year the Supreme Court rejected the government's position that it can maintain a law-free zone at the Guantánamo Naval Base. The habeas corpus petitions on behalf of the men imprisoned in Guantánamo seek the most basic relief: a fair hearing with due process in federal court to challenge the factual and legal basis of their detention. Our system of justice is founded upon the notion that the Executive may not detain any individual without these fundamental protections. We are asking you to write your representatives to demand that they not to undo the work of the Supreme Court and that they uphold the rule of law and reject the Graham-Levin Amendment to the Military Authorization Bill.

You can also call your representatives through the US Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Senator Graham offered his amendment in the Senate very late in this session, and a vote was held with no hearings and very little debate. After the vote, a firestorm of criticism forced Senator Graham to accept a compromise--negotiated with Democratic Senator Carl Levin--that allows captives very limited recourse to federal appeals courts. But Republican Senator Arlen Specter, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, described the compromise as "a sophisticated, blatant attempt at court-stripping."

The Bush Administration is now negotiating with Graham and others to make the legislation even more restrictive. A Justice Department spokesperson says Attorney General Gonzales has stated that he is "particularly focused on thwarting some of the 160 habeas lawsuits filed by Guantánamo detainees." Graham and the Bush Administration oppose rights for the Guantanamo detainees in part because they refuse to face the fact that innocent people have been caught up in the system--a fact acknowledged by the military's own commanders at Guantánamo. According to the Wall Street Journal: "American commanders acknowledge that many prisoners shouldn't have been locked up here in the first place because they weren't dangerous and didn't know anything of value. 'Sometimes, we just didn't get the right folks,' says Brig. Gen. Jay Hood, Guantánamo’s current commander."

Your voice is urgently needed to preserve habeas corpus -- the most critical safeguard against torture and unchecked Executive power.


Sincerely,
Ron Daniels
Executive Director,
Center for Constitutional Rights


Informant: Martin Greenhut

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453711.9284722223.html


Informant: beefree

Published by: Passport administrator, WWF-International,
07/12/2005

Send an e-mail
http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/action_email.cfm?uNC=46339141&uCampaignId=1081&uActionId=1801

A quarter of all animals caught in fishing gear, about 20 million metric tonnes of marine life, are wasted each year, thrown back dead into the sea.


© Press Association
Children from across Europe present a petition to the Chair of the Fisheries Council

The incidental capture, or bycatch, of fish, sea-birds, cetaceans, turtles, sharks and numerous other species is one of the greatest threats to the marine environment. This includes edible fish species that cannot be landed - because they are immature, undersize or have gone rotten in nets.

Urgent action is needed to stop wasteful practices and bad management. This December, the future of Europe’s marine environment is once again in European Union (EU) Fisheries Ministers’ hands.

Take action now to help stop wasteful fishing in Europe’s waters
http://passport.panda.org/campaigns/action_email.cfm?uCampaignId=1081&uActionId=1801

http://www.sobran.com/columns/2005/051011.shtml


Informant: Lew Rockwell

----- Original Message -----
From: Mehr Demokratie e.V. Berlin-Brandenburg
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 12:28 PM
Subject: Dringende Aktion: Veröffentlichungspflicht für Politiker-Nebeneinkünfte in Gefahr!

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

kurz vor Ende der letzten Legislaturperiode wurde im Bundestag eine Veröffentlichungspflicht für die Nebeneinkünfte von Abgeordneten beschlossen. Dass es dazu kam, dazu hatte auch eine Kampagne der Online-Plattform Campact beigetragen, an der Mehr Demokratie sich beteiligt hatte. Jetzt, nach der Bundestagswahl, steht das bereits Erreichte erneut auf dem Spiel…

Bitte helfen Sie mit, dass die verschärfte Transparenzpflicht nicht wieder kassiert wird, beteiligen Sie sich an der Protest-Aktion von Campact!

Mit freundlichen Grüße,
Christian Posselt
Pressesprecher Mehr Demokratie e.V.


* Bundestagspräsident Lammert will Veröffentlichung von Politiker-Nebeneinkünften auf Sankt Nimmerleinstag verschieben!

Schicken Sie ihm eine Protest-E-Mail unter http://www.campact.de Rufen Sie ihn in Berlin (030 - 227 77645) und in seinem Wahlkreis Bochum (02327 - 964 315 / 02327 - 964 312) an.

"Von wem erhalten Bundestagsabgeordnete eigentlich sonst noch wie viel Geld?" Eine Antwort soll die Veröffentlichung von Politiker-Nebeneinkünften geben, wie sie vom Bundestag beschlossen wurde. Doch Bundestagspräsident Norbert Lammert (CDU) will die verschärfte Transparenzpflicht jetzt noch verhindern: In einem Brief an die Fraktionsvorsitzenden schlägt er vor, die gesetzliche Neuregelung 'einer weiteren Beratung zu unterziehen' und bis zum Abschluss aller notwendigen vorbereitenden Arbeiten auszusetzen. Im Klartext: Lammert will die Transparenzpflicht auf den Sankt Nimmerleinstag verschieben. Die Fraktionen haben drei Wochen Zeit auf den Brief zu antworten, dann soll im Bundestag entschieden werden. (Weitere Infos:
http://www.campact.de/nebenekft/infos/5min )

Nach monatelangen Beratungen im Vorfeld des Bundestagsbeschlusses ist das eine kaum zu überbietende Frechheit! Wir fragen Herrn Lammert: Warum decken Sie die Dunkelmänner im Parlament?

Mit unserem gemeinsamen Protest wollen wir Herrn Lammert klar machen, dass wir Bürgerinnen und Bürger uns nicht an der Nase herum führen lassen:

Schicken Sie ihm eine Protest-E-Mail: http://www.campact.de Rufen Sie ihn in Berlin (030 - 227 77645) und in seinem Wahlkreis Bochum (02327 - 964 315 / 02327 - 964 312) an.

Leiten Sie diese Mobilisierungs-E-Mail am 8. und am 9.12.2005 an möglichst viele Freunde und Bekannte weiter.

Joe Conason
The New York Observer
12/06/05

California's 'Duke' heads to the pokey Washington infected with a culture of corruption

For a crude bully who used to bray about lining up Democrats and anti-war protesters to be “shot,” Randy (Duke) Cunningham cried like a little baby the other day when he finally admitted taking millions in bribes from defense contractors.

Forced to resign his office immediately as part of his plea bargain with federal prosecutors, the once-powerful California Congressman, whose leverage derived from his chairmanship of an important defense subcommittee, was a dominant type in the Republican Party of this era.

During his career on Capitol Hill, Mr. Cunningham's style was loud, mindlessly reactionary and full of flag-waving bluster. He once described Bill Clinton as a “traitor” and compared Senator John Kerry to Jane Fonda on the House floor.

This hyper-patriotic scoundrel also turned out to be avaricious, deceptive and as eager to sell himself as a male escort. He misused his authority to steer federal contracts to the contractors who bribed him, and he doesn't seem to have hesitated to damage the national interest if his personal interests were served.

Among the items acquired by Mr. Cunningham, thanks to the illicit generosity of his friends in the defense industry, were a hillside mansion with pool in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; a yacht called “The Dukestir”; a Rolls-Royce sedan, plus repairs; a 17th-century Louis-Philippe commode, along with assorted other antiques and Oriental carpets; and roughly $1.8 million in cash considerations, plus hundreds of thousands in the usual campaign contributions. He also avoided paying federal income taxes, as most crooks tend to do.

In short, he peddled his principles and his patriotism rather cheaply.

Yet while the disgraced Duke may be the most ostentatiously greedy member of the House, his sleazy story is but a single episode in the expanding saga of Republican scandal. As he pondered his next term-which he will serve in a federal correctional institution-another high-rolling crook on Capitol Hill confessed to corrupting Congress.

That would be Michael Scanlon, the former communications director for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who pleaded guilty to felony fraud for his role in helping super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff to relieve several Indian tribes of about $80 million while lobbying to improve their gambling businesses. The cooperation provided by Mr. Scanlon to the Justice Department is expected to embroil no fewer than a half-dozen other members of Congress and a squad of current and former staffers like him.

Many more politicians may ultimately be implicated in Mr. Abramoff's influence-peddling scam, however, with the slime rising to the top of the leadership both inside and outside the Congress. Former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed profited handsomely from the Abramoff gambling boodle, as did Grover Norquist, the conservative strategist, lobbyist and unofficial aide to White House political boss Karl Rove. House Speaker Dennis Hastert performed favors for Abramoff clients and collected more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from the lobbyist's firm and clients since 2001.

On a single June evening two years ago, according to the Associated Press, the Speaker's Keep Our Majority political-action committee took in more than $20,000 from the Abramoff network at a fund-raiser in a Washington restaurant owned by the lobbyist. A week later, Mr. Hastert and several of his top deputies sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, asking her to disapprove a gambling license sought by a tribe competing with one of Mr. Abramoff's clients. While the Speaker's spokesman insists there was no connection between his actions and the money steered into his accounts, such indignant assertions now provoke knowing smiles even among Republicans.

Indeed, thoughtful Republicans are well aware that the typical complaints and excuses proffered by their leaders and pundits sound utterly false these days. This swelling tsunami of scandal cannot be attributed to partisan enemies or the “liberal media.”

The Abramoff schemes were aired in public hearings chaired by Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican. The Cunningham scams came to light in a brilliant investigation by the conservative Copley News Service, whose featured columnists include Jack Kemp and Phyllis Schlafly. The criminal prosecutions of Mr. Scanlon, Mr. Cunningham and many others yet to be indicted are the work of prosecutors answerable to a Republican Attorney General.

Has the capital been infected by a “culture of corruption”? That culture has existed for well over a century, in both parties, at least since Mark Twain described Congress as America's only native criminal class. Before the Republicans won control of the House in 1994, its Democratic overlords had certainly proved capable of self-dealing and misconduct. A few of them went to jail, too.

What has happened since then seems unprecedented, however — at least during the postwar era. The sale of influence has been institutionalized in ways that earlier generations of politicians never imagined. Friends of Newt Gingrich — not a morally squeamish man — say he is dismayed. Members of the generation he brought to power are not revolutionaries but grifters, who have made a bad situation much worse.

Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer and Salon.com, and is the author of Big Lies: The Right- Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth.


Informant: Alan Dicey

http://www.buergerwelle.de/pdf/handy_folder_kinder.pdf


Nachricht von Ulrich Weiner

--------

Kinder und Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/311977/

Mobilfunk in der Schule
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/338094/

Schule und Mobilfunk
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/403986/

Die namhaften europäischen Hersteller haben sich bisher geweigert, DECT-Schnurlostelefone so zu modifizieren, dass die Basisstation im Stand-By-Betrieb nicht strahlt. Auch die ausdrückliche Forderung des Bundesamts für Strahlenschutz an die Industrie, schnurlose DECT-Telefone mit geregelter Sendeleistung und Strahlungsfreiheit im Stand-By-Betrieb zu entwickeln, blieb bisher ungehört. Der richtige Zeitpunkt für einen chinesischen Hersteller, die Nachfrage nach verträglicheren Geräten nun zu befriedigen. Näheres unter der ergänzten Rubrik „Fragen&Antworten“:

http://www.umweltinstitut.org/frames/all/m392.htm

Gibt es schon "strahlenarme" DECT-Schnurlostelefone?

Ja, inzwischen sind modifizierte DECT-Schnurlostelefone erhältlich, bei denen die Basisstation abschaltet, kurz nachdem das Mobilteil in die Ladeschale gelegt wird. Auch das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz fordert die Industrie seit Juni 2005 auf, schnurlose DECT-Telefone mit bedarfsgerechter Leistungsregelung und Strahlungsfreiheit im Stand-By-Betrieb zu entwickeln. Die namhaften europäischen Hersteller haben sich lange gegen die Einführung entsprechender Geräte gewehrt und dem chinesischen Hersteller Orchid den Vortritt gelassen. Dessen Telefone Orchid LR108 und Orchid LR128TAM (mit eingeb. Anrufbeantworter) haben zwar keine Regelung der Sendeleistung, sie sind aber im Stand-By-Betrieb strahlungsfrei. Diese Geräte werden derzeit nur von wenigen Händlern angeboten:

ESnord ® Technologies
http://www.esnord.de/

A. H. Communication
http://www.schnurlostelefon.de/

http://www.umweltinstitut.org/frames/all/m282.htm



Kommentar der Bürgerwelle e.V.

Nun gibt es DECT-Telefone, die im Standby nicht mehr strahlen, wenn der Hörer in der Ladeschale liegt. Liegt der Hörer wie üblich in der Wohnung, strahlt die Basisstation also munter weiter. Damit besteht kein Unterschied zu den bisherigen DECT -Telefonen. Würde der Hörer nämlich im Standby in der Ladestation liegen, ginge ja auch ein Schnurtelefon. Man muss davon ausgehen, dass der Hörer nur selten in der Ladeschale liegt. Also besteht weiterhin das Problem. Weiterhin sind während des Telefonates der Telefonierer und die Personen im nahen Umkreis um den Hörer und natürlich der Basisstation Strahlungsleistungen ausgesetzt, die z.B. die Blut-Hirn-Schranke öffnen usw. Dies gilt aber auch für CT 1+ Telefone. Auch die analoge Strahlung öffnet die Blut-Hirn-Schranke. CT 1+ hat eben den Vorteil, das nach Beendigung des Gespräches die Basisstation nicht mehr sendet, egal wo sich der Hörer befindet.

Schlussfolgerung: Wenn jemanden etwas an seiner Gesundheit und der seiner Menschen im Umfeld liegt, gibt es nur eine Empfehlung. Ein ganz normales Schnur-Telefon. Sollte jemand unbedingt ab und zu schnurlos telefonieren müssen, z.B. im Garten usw., geben wir die Empfehlung ein Schurtelefon und ein CT 1+ Telefon. Nur wenn es am Schnurtelefon nicht möglich ist zu telefonieren, so kurz wie es geht das CT 1+ Telefon benützen. Beugen Sie damit der vorzeitigen Demenz vor. Ihr Gehirn wird es Ihnen danken!

http://openpr.de/in/71735
http://www.news4press.com/1/MeldungDetail.asp?Mitteilungs_ID=87572

Strike the Root
by David MacGregor

12/07/05

The welfare state turns us all into busybody brother's keepers. This impulse to interfere in the lives of others is then translated to the ballot box -- leading to the election of governments who propose more and more draconian legislation in the attempt to impose standards of 'public health'...

http://www.strike-the-root.com/52/macgregor/macgregor8.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Hawaii Reporter
by Don Newman

12/07/05

When people complain about the 'outsourcing' of American manufacturing jobs they rarely take into account that it is government policies that often drive companies away. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of Clark Foam Co., which was forced to close its doors recently due to harassment by the EPA and local county fire officials. This is a perfect example of government regulation run amuck...

http://tinyurl.com/8xc6r



The freedom to move

Foundation for Economic Education
by Oscar W. Cooley and Paul L. Poirot

posted 12/07/05

Can we hope to explain the blessings of freedom to foreign people while we deny them the freedom to cross our boundaries? Freedom of movement underlies the concept of private property rights. A person has the right to exclusive possession and use of that which he has assembled and improved without trespass against others -- the right to the product of his own labor. Any move of a man might be deemed proper and beneficial when he acts to assemble, transport, or otherwise convert the free gifts of Nature so that they may satisfy human needs more readily. This involves no infringement on the equal right of others. It would seem to be the kind of movement that should not be discouraged by man or by government...

http://tinyurl.com/aqub8


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://tinyurl.com/8vekc



Report from the ninth ward

Common Dreams
by Mary Beth Appell

12/07/05

The residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans were finally allowed to return home on December 1, 2005. The neighborhood is home to nearly 20,000 African-American citizens and was devastated by the flooding during and after Katrina. This was the very first time they were legally permitted to visit their homes. ... Everywhere else in New Orleans you can see people fixing roofs, clearing debris, working hard to reclaim their homes. But not in the Lower Ninth Ward which has been officially closed for three months and guarded by heavily armed army and police. Three months after the floods and hurricane, all the shelters are closed. People are coming back home and have nowhere to go. I heard that at most one quarter of the residents are here, the rest are spread out across the south and the country. I write because the Red Cross has been saying to potential volunteers, 'We don't need you in New Orleans. Go to Pakistan.' My experiences in New Orleans say otherwise...

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1207-23.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Nation
by Robert Scheer

12/07/05

Call it Tonto's revenge: The outrageous rip-off of Native American tribes by a top Republican lobbyist is leading inexorably to a reckoning for the allegedly morally superior religious and political right. 'I don't think we have had something of this scope, arrogance and sheer venality in our lifetimes,' Norman J. Ornstein, of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, wrote in Roll Call. 'It is building to an explosion, one that could create immense collateral damage within Congress and in coming elections.' Selling firewater to the natives -- or in this case charging them $82 million for government breaks on slot machine and other gaming licenses -- is not exactly what the high-minded prophets of the Republican revolution promised. And to see behind the scenes as Christian right superstar Ralph Reed, bought off by top Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, dupes his grassroots 'pro-family' followers into unwittingly supporting casino-rich Indian tribes under the guise of anti-gambling initiatives, is to glimpse moral corruption of biblical proportions...

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051219/scheer1207


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Human Events
by James Plummer

12/08/05

Originally conceived as a tool to facilitate international cooperation in the pursuit of computer hackers and the like, the Cybercrime Treaty evolved during 15 years of negotiations to encompass any criminal offense that involves electronic evidence -- which in the 21st century is essentially limitless. As written, it could require more surveillance on Americans who have been accused of violating the laws of foreign countries -- even if they haven't violated U.S. law. Treaty cheerleaders paint menacing pictures of hackers and child pornographers. But in reality the Convention is drafted so broadly that it encompasses virtually every area of law where the possibility exists of computerized evidence. That could affect thousands of innocent people, including not only political dissidents, but also the politically incorrect...

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=10723


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Slate
by Jacob Weisberg

12/07/05

George W. Bush arrived in Washington avowing an end to all that. He promised he would never parse, shade, or play nice with the truth the way that Clinton had. But if Bush has shunned spinning, it has been in favor of something far more insidious. If the Clintonites were inveterate spinners, the Bushies have proved themselves to be thoroughgoing propagandists...

http://www.slate.com/id/2131768/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

CounterPunch
by Gary Leupp

12/07/05

'I cannot support a mission that leads to corruption, human rights abuse, and liars. I am sullied. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. Death before being dishonored any more.' Having written a last note, and placed it by his bed in his trailer on a U.S. military base near Baghdad, on the afternoon of June 5, 2005 Colonel Ted S. Westhusing put his 9-mm. service pistol to his head and blew his brains out. He was 44, survived by a wife and three young children. ... What's special about this case is that Westhusing was a specialist on ethics, a West Point graduate who had taken seriously its code that 'a cadet will not lie, cheat or steal -- or tolerate those who do,' who had received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Emory University for a dissertation on the meaning of honor, and returned to West Point to teach philosophy and English. He didn't kill himself because of battle stress or feelings of guilt following his role in a specific firefight. Looks like he put a bullet through his head because he felt the mission itself -- the war -- was dishonorable...

http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp12072005.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

The Chronicle

12/02/05

At many colleges, students flash a photo ID at a food-service worker to get into a dining hall. Things work differently at the University of Georgia, where Gavin Beck, a senior, places his hand on a sensor that determines if the person waiting to eat really is Gavin Beck. The process, which measures the size and shape of the hand, takes only a few seconds. 'No system is foolproof, but this is far more efficient for us than a photo-based system,' says J. Michael Floyd, director of food services at Georgia. The university is among the first to use the biometric technology widely, having relied on it in one form or another in its dining halls since 1974. Hand scanners, electronic fingerprint readers, even retina scanners are not just for super-spies in Hollywood movies anymore. The technology is increasingly being used by colleges to allow students, professors, and staff members to gain access to dining halls, laboratories, gyms, and other facilities on their campuses...

http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i15/15a02801.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Wired News

12/07/05

Although John Gilmore lives just five blocks from San Francisco's Department of Motor Vehicles, his driver's license is expired. On purpose.The outspoken, techno-hippie, wealthy civil libertarian doesn't want to give his Social Security number to the DMV. Neither will he show his driver's license at airports, or submit to routine security searches. This refusal to obey the rules led him to file suit against the Bush administration (Gilmore v. Gonzales) after being rebuffed at two different airports on July 4, 2002, when he tried to fly without showing identification. One airline offered to let Gilmore fly without showing ID, but only if he underwent more intensive security screening, which he declined. On Thursday, Gilmore and his lawyers will get 20 minutes in front of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to make their argument against identification requirements and government secrecy, in a case that time and shifting public opinion has transformed from a quirky millionaire's indignant protest into a closely watched test of the limitations of executive branch power...

http://tinyurl.com/7eoo8


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Consumer Affairs

12/07/05

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mistakenly put thousands of unsuspecting airline passengers on a 'terrorist watch' list, according to one agency official. The individuals were 'selectees,' meaning they were singled out for additional screening and verification before boarding an airplane. CNET News reported that Jim Kennedy, TSA's director of 'redress,' revealed the error at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 'privacy and integrity' committee meeting on Dec. 6th. Kennedy said that 30,000 people were categorized as 'selectees' for various reasons, including 'fitting a certain profile, flying on a one-way ticket, or being selected randomly by a computer'...

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/tsa_watch_list.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Independent [UK]

12/08/05

In three different British courtrooms yesterday, three ordinary people stood accused of three very different crimes, but all based simply on their opposition to the war in Iraq. In the first case of its kind, a woman received a criminal conviction for standing outside Downing Street and reading aloud the names of the 97 British soldiers who have died in the Iraq conflict. At the same time as Maya Evans, 25, appeared in court yesterday to become the first person to be found guilty under the legislation designed to create an exclusion zone around Parliament Square, Douglas Barker, 72, a retired businessman from Wiltshire, was told by a magistrate that he faces jail for withholding part of his income tax on his investments, also in protest over Iraq. In a third courtroom in Aldershot, a military judge heard that Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, 37, an RAF medical officer based in Scotland, faced a court martial for refusing to serve in Iraq on the basis that the war was illegal...

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article331782.ece


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

http://www.testticker.de/pcpro/news/security/news20051208008.aspx

Deutsche Unternehmen vernachlässigen die Sicherheit ihrer Funknetzwerke
http://www.rbi-aktuell.de/cms/front_content.php?client=1&lang=1&idcat=30&idart=2916

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Strahlend ins Internet - WLAN
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1054573/

West Midlands & Stafford Express and Star

Dec 7, 2005

Religious leaders have rejected concerns about the health of Black Country schoolchildren to allow a mobile phone mast to be set up.

The Ancient Arches Court of Canterbury has overturned a ruling that blocked plans by Emmanuel Church, Walsall, to allow a mast to be installed in its tower.

It is believed the church will earn around £6,000 a year in rent by allowing communication companies to place masts in or on its tower. The ruling follows a near 18-month campaign by nearby schools King Charles Primary and Bentley West Primary.

Staff and parents objected on the grounds the mast could damage the health of youngsters.

The case for and against was put to the country's top ecclesiastical court at a one-day hearing in September.

The decision has just been revealed.

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Churches and Cell Towers
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1296809/

This is the North East

08.12.05

ALMOST 200 people have objected to plans for a 52ft mobile phone mast at the entrance to a town.

Objectors say the controversial plan has galvanised residents into action because it would ruin an attractive view of Masham, near Ripon.

Mobile phone company Airwave MM02 has applied to Harrogate Borough Council for planning permission for the mast.

A decision will be made by the council's head of planning services, Tim Richards, and planning committee chairman Councillor Nigel Simms, who represents Masham on the council.

The decision will be made on December 19 and the deadline for objections is tomorrow. Nearly 200 objections have been received by Masham Community Office, which is co-ordinating responses and sending them to the borough council.

Masham Parish Council vice-chairwoman Flo Grainger said: "I am very pleased and surprised by the numbers of objections.

"The mast plan has brought so many objections because it would have a widespread impact and ruin the view of Masham."

The company, which said the mast was needed to improve police communications, plans to site it on a grass verge near Low Burton Hall, at the junction of the B6267 and A6108, from Bedale and Ripon.

Councillor Grainger said campaigners against the mast had been boosted by news that the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Beauty administration plans to object.

Apart from the mast's impact, residents are also concerned that the planned site is at an accident blackspot and on a gateway to the Yorkshire Dales.

Masham Parish Council has tabled a strong protest.

Its chairman, Councillor Andy Burrell, said: "This is not the place for a mobile phone mast.

"We could not object more strongly to this unwanted plan."

--------

This is yet another TETRA addition after O2 Airwave's V-P declared early this year that no more masts were needed (for police or any other service user yet to take it up) in support of the Firelink bid.

One objection to this mast might be to prove that it is needed, in the light of O2 Airwave's public statement that it would not be needed.

Andy

--------

Thanks for this Andy.

Next question: what happens to the much-publicised high-security encryption claimed for Airwave - so that people can't eavesdrop on confidential police communications?

This article makes it very clear that highly confidential information from the Police National Computer, as well as confidential emails, will be going over the ordinary public network. So what about all that concern for security that made Airwave so essential???

The whole thing is an utter (black) farce. If the Airwave contract had been awarded by a private company, rather than an arm of government, heads would be rolling at the very highest level in the boardrooms of that company. But since in this case we, the public, are the 'shareholders' of UK PLC, who's going to care?

I think it would be naive to rule out some sort of hidden agenda - there are more surprises in store yet (for those of us who haven't gone beyond being surprised by anything about this fiasco).

Grahame

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And what's more, reviewing what Rohill is saying about TETRA in Germany, Spain and Netherlands, they are waiting for TETRA standard 2 in order to provide end-to-end encryption. Either they are wrong, or Airwave is not fully end-to-end as stated and believed by our police forces.

Andy

--------

... And I recall reading in an earlier 'Computing' article that many (probably most) of the handsets currently in use will not support TETRA Standard 2, and will therefore need replacing. And I doubt that Airwave handsets are given away free with the coco-pops.

The beat goes on ...

Grahame

The Comet 08.12.05

A CONTROVERSIAL phone mast originally installed without planning permission and then allowed to remain temporarily could end up staying where it is for over 18 months.

The mast, situated by the terraces at Hitchin Town football ground in Fishponds Road, was installed by Vodafone in October last year.

The company then applied for permission and was told it could keep the mast there until April 2005.

But the mast has remained at the site since this deadline passed and Vodafone is now asking to be allowed to keep it there for another six months.

The company claims the site is needed to give coverage to west Hitchin and Ickleford until it finds a permanent solution.

If the new planning permission is granted the mast could remain at the football ground until either May or June next year, a move which is likely to prove unpopular with residents of nearby roads.

One resident, of Lancaster Avenue, has already written to North Herts District Council to object to the plan.

The resident insists the mast should have been removed and complains that it is visible from her sitting room and that it is not built on a brownfield site but on common land used for sport.

The matter is due to be discussed by the Hitchin Committee of NHDC next Tuesday.

Councillor Martin Stears, who represents Hitchin Bearton ward on the council, told The Comet: "It's a matter of concern that unless things have changed that we should not see it as a backdoor for something permanent when that's not appropriate.

"We have to look at the whole application from both sides and make a proper judgement on the night."

The Comet contacted Vodafone for a comment but they had not responded by the time the paper went to press.

Sidney Blumenthal asserts that Condoleezza Rice's contradictory, misleading and outright false statements about the US and torture have taken America's moral standing - and her own - to new depths.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120805Z.shtml

The Citizen, Gloucester

09:30 - 08 December 2005

City planners have been urged to make a stand against the number of phone masts being set up in Gloucester.

Two applications were put forward at a meeting of the city council's planning committee on Tuesday evening. Both were submitted by telecommunications giant O2 (UK) Ltd, to erect 15 metre tall structures in Painswick Road.

The council can only turn down plans if it can prove the siting and appearance of the mast is unreasonable.

No health issues can be considered in any application and, if the council rejects a proposal, it could face large costs if the decision is overturned on appeal.

The first planned mast, on a grass verge outside Saintbridge RFC in Matson, was granted permission after councillors admitted they could not find a planning reason to reject the proposals.

However, the plans for the second mast, on a grass verge on land between Painswick Road and Briar Lane in Abbeydale, met with more opposition.

City actress Jean Carlin, who lives near the proposed site, spoke against the plans.

She said: "Soon people will not even be able to talk to each other, before too long everyone will just walk around speaking into these stupid little machines.

"This is a serious matter and I believe it is up to people like you to get the ball rolling and to say enough is enough."

Coun Andrew Gravells, who represents the Abbeydale area on the city council, also spoke against the plans.

He said: "I am upset by this application. The site slopes quite significantly and the impact of placing a 15 metre tall mast here would be massive upon many people in Abbeydale."

Coun Gravells added that he believed a more suitable site away from nearby houses could be found for the mast.

Coun Mary Smith, a member of the committee, agreed, saying: "We need to send a clear message that putting a mast in the middle of a residential area is not acceptable when just 100 yards up the road the houses are far more scattered."

The committee decided to refuse planning permission on the grounds that the mast would spoil the amenity of the surrounding area and would be situated on one of the main approaches to the city.

The Worst and Dumbest
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/douglas3.html

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/3737/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

http://www.who.int/features/2005/health_survey/en/
http://www.who.int/features/2005/health_survey/form/en/index.html

I have received this - I think we should all contact WHO and let them know just what we think of them!

Cheers

Sylvia

--------

WHO, EMF, Electromagnetic Radiation and Mobile Phones
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1194586/

Beobachter 25/05

Text: Thomas Grether
Bild: Igor Kravarik

Haben Sie Schlafprobleme? Ist Ihr Mann ein extremer Schnarcher? Elektrosmog in den eigenen vier Wänden könnte schuld daran sein.
Nicht nur Handys und Mobilfunkantennen verursachen Elektrosmog. Auch Haarföhn, Fernseher, Radios, Lampen und Stromkabel bauen in der Wohnung elektrische und magnetische Wechselfelder auf. Die Menschen nehmen diese elektrischen Felder wie eine Antenne auf und stehen deswegen buchstäblich unter Spannung.

«Das ist besonders dann der Fall, wenn die Menschen keinen Kontakt zum Boden haben, zum Beispiel im Bett», sagt Elektrosmog-Spezialist Josef Peter von der Firma MPA Engineering in Effretikon ZH. Peter misst und saniert seit Jahren mit Elektrosmog belastete Wohnungen. «Wir prüfen neben der Stärke des elektrischen Felds immer auch die Körperspannung.»

Im Körper bewirken die Felder künstliche Wirbelströme, Stromflüsse sowie Zell- und Nervenreize. «Der Elektrosmog greift in biologische Prozesse ein und verändert sie», sagt Peter. Das bekam auch Elisabeth Kiefer aus Volketswil ZH zu spüren: «Ich hatte massive Schlafprobleme. Zudem litt ich unter hohem Blutdruck und musste dagegen Medikamente nehmen», sagt sie.

In Kiefers Schlafzimmer mass Peter eine elektrische Feldstärke von 7 Volt pro Meter; der von Baubiologen und Medizinern empfohlene Höchstwert liegt bei 0,1 Volt. Kiefers Körper stand mit über 7000 Millivolt unter Spannung – 350fach über dem Richtwert von 20 Millivolt.

Die Auswirkungen sind anerkannt

Die Europäische Union stellte bereits 1997 fest, dass Menschen auf Elektrosmog mit verschiedensten Symptomen reagieren: unter anderem mit Schlafproblemen, Hautausschlägen, Hormon- und Nervenstörungen, Verdauungs- und Herz-Kreislauf-Beschwerden sowie Augen- und Ohrenproblemen. Und die Weltgesundheitsorganisation schrieb im Februar 2003: «Das Phänomen der Elektrosensibilität ist klar anerkannt.»

Bewusst wahrnehmen können Menschen indes nur einen kleinen Bereich des elektromagnetischen Spektrums: Wärme und Licht. Handys und Schnurlostelefone senden mit digitalen elektromagnetischen Wellen. Zu Hause gilt es auch zu unterscheiden zwischen elektrischen Feldern, die als Folge der elektrischen Spannung von Geräten entstehen, und magnetischen Feldern infolge fliessenden Stroms.

Wenn der Handwerker nicht erdet

Elektrische Felder sind in der Lage, sich meterweit auszudehnen. Laut Elektrosmog-Spezialist Josef Peter sind die Verursacher oft versteckt. Die Felder entstehen wegen der elektrischen Spannung von Kabeln in Wänden, Leitungen und Steckdosen. «Und zwar auch dann, wenn Geräte eingesteckt, aber ausgeschaltet sind. Ich habe Häuser untersucht, in denen ganze Böden unter Spannung standen», sagt Peter. Ursache seien Geräte und Leitungen, die von Hand- oder Heimwerkern falsch installiert oder nicht geerdet worden sind.

Elisabeth Kiefer entfernte auf Rat von Experte Peter den Radiowecker und das digitale DECT-Schnurlostelefon aus dem Schlafzimmer.

Weiter unter:
http://www.beobachter.ch/asset_9587.asp?session=E6DCF491-6BCD-450D-B1A4-5F8154E4B43F

Oread Daily

Speaking at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco a leading US climate scientist has warned that the world has one decade to get to grips with climate change.

Dr James Hansen told the meeting that just 1C more of warming would take the Earth into climate patterns it has not experienced for more than 500,000 years.

Hansen said determined action on energy efficiency to bring about reductions in greenhouse gas emission could lead to some stabilisation.

However, Dr Hansen warned that the planet will be very badly damaged within 10 years if global warming isn't slowed down.

In Montreal where the United Nations conference on climate change is reaching its climax the United States continued its deadly obstructionist policy and opposed an an initiative by Canada to start formal discussions on how to tackle global warming outside of the Kyoto Treaty. Inida and Saudi Arabia joined the US in opposition to the Canadian proposal.

Other developing countries including China, South Africa and Brazil seem willing to go along with the plan. However, those same countries don't want to commit to any formal targets to limit emissions.

As the endless debate continued the World-Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) said that 2005 will go down as the hottest, driest and stormiest year on record, and it's most likely due to climate change. The WWF says there has been more extreme weather like hurricanes and droughts this year than any other. They also say that the amount of ice at the poles has shrunk more than before.

In October this year, the report noted, NASA reported that the global average temperature was already 0.1 Fahrenheit warmer than in
1998, the record year.

The WWF based its conclusions on data from US government sources, NASA, and the World Meteorological Organisation.

World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) spokesperson Lara Hansen said the violent weather that has hit many places in 2005 is too strong to just be explained by natural cycles. "There is a cyclical signature to hurricanes, but what were seeing now is even beyond what that cyclical nature would lead us to believe has happened," said Hansen.

Hansen said some predictions indicate that the Arctic North could become ice-free by the end of the century, even possibly by mid- century. In fact, the smallest area of Arctic sea ice ever was recorded in September -- 500,000 square miles smaller than the historic average -- and a 9.8 percent decline, per decade, of perennial sea ice cover, the report said.

"The rate at which we are losing sea ice goes beyond the normal models of what we would think would be happening," she said.

Waters in the Caribbean were hotter for longer, causing extensive bleaching from Colombia to the Florida Keys says the WWF report.

The year has also been the driest in decades in the Amazon, where a drought may surpass anything in the past century.

With so many environmental flash points, Hansen said the world must accept the urgency of preventing global warming, despite the lack of leadership from Washington.

The message is "Act now", said the WWF. It warned that governments meeting in Montreal must make the Kyoto agreement on climate change, initiated in 1997 but largely ignored by the US and criticised for failing to meet objectives, work. "They have to start now on the next round of carbon dioxide emission reductions, to keep the process on track after the current commitment period ends in 2012."

Otherwise, WWF claimed, a "window of opportunity" would be lost to keep the average world temperature less than 2C above pre-industrial levels: "Failure to do that would be a key tipping point for the world's ecosystems."

The WWF warning came only days after a report by Britain's National Oceanography Centre that part of the oceanic system that drives the Gulf Stream, the warm current that flows from the Caribbean towards northern Europe, has slowed by almost one-third since 1992 because of global warming. As the Gulf Stream flows, it releases huge amounts of heat, creating the warm winds that keep Europe's climate relatively mild. Without that heat, Europe would have a more hostile climate and Britain, on the same latitude as Labrador in Canada, could see winter temperatures plummet to minus 30C. Sources: Radio New Zealand, CBBC, RTE (Ireland), Cape Argus, Forbes, Scottsman, AHN, Live Science

To see the NEW Oread Daily Blog: http://oreadaily.blogspot.com/ To view the entire Oread Daily: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oreadaily/


Informant: reg

By Joyce Morgan
Arts Editor
December 5, 2005

AN environmental health expert will visit the National Gallery of Australia this week to look at whether there is any connection between cancer cases among security staff and the workplace.

Associate Professor Malcolm Sim, the head of the Occupational and Environmental Health Unit at Monash University, has been appointed to give a second opinion following an assessment by Health Services Australia in 2002, which discounted any connection.

That assessment was strongly criticised in a health and safety report by an independent investigator in September, which recommended that a second opinion be obtained.

Sim’s appointment is the latest move by the gallery to clear the air over long-running questions about the health and safety of the Canberra building.

And it comes nearly a year after the Herald first reported that the gallery knew in 2001 that at least 14 security guards had developed cancer, but it had not told an investigator looking into health concerns at the time. No timetable would be imposed on Sim, who was appointed in mid-November, gallery spokesman Ken Begg said.

“The timing of his report will be his decision,” he said.

Sim’s appointment comes in the wake of the report by an independent investigator, Robert Wray, who found that the gallery was highly likely to have been a “sick building” in the mid-1990s.

Wray criticised as a “paper and literature investigation” the cancer assessment prepared by Health Services Australia.

Management and workers had not been consulted, nor had there been an assessment of the working conditions or allegations of contaminated air-conditioning systems, Wray said.

Sim heads a team of about 15 research staff at Monash, where his unit’s research interests include the human health effects of occupational and environmental chemical exposure.

He will conduct his first visit on Wednesday to familiarise himself with the gallery, learn of staff concerns and to determine the direction his investigation will take.

http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/index.php?p=340

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/toxi-d07.shtml


Informant: Friends

Freihandel: Globalisierungsgegner fordern Stopp der WTO-Verhandlungen (06.12.05)

Am 13. Dezember beginnen neue Verhandlungen über die Liberalisierung des Welthandels. Ein drittes Debakel nach Seattle und Cancun, wo es beidesmal nicht gelang, den Durchbruch beim Abbau von Zöllen und Agrarsubventionen zu erzielen, will man diesmal in Hongkong vermeiden. Die Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) mit 149 Mitgliedsländern, darunter Deutschland, will für die weltweit agierenden Unternehmen den Handel erleichtern, indem sie für den Abbau von Zöllen und Subventionen eintritt. Mehr als 150 soziale Bewegungen, Gewerkschaften und Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen haben jetzt die Politik der Welthandelsorganisation in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme scharf kritisiert und einen Stopp der Verhandlungen gefordert. Die so genannte Entwicklungsrunde der WTO sei "ein Rezept für die massenhafte Zerstörung von Existenzen, für Massenarbeitslosigkeit und die Verschlechterung von Arbeitsverhältnissen", heißt es in dem Papier, das aus Deutschland neben Attac auch Organisationen wie der Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland und die Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft unterzeichnet haben.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12457

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Badisch-elsässischer Bauernprotest: Landwirte demonstrieren gegen "hemmungslosen Welthandel" (07.12.05)

Mit einer gemeinsamen Protestaktion haben deutsche und französische Bauern am Mittwoch gegen einen Abbau von Importzöllen für Agrarprodukte demonstriert. Nach Angaben eines Polizeisprechers blockierten rund 1000 Landwirte mit mehr als 150 Traktoren beidseitig die Europabrücke zwischen Kehl und Straßburg. Auf französischer Seite wurde eine Kundgebung abgehalten. Die Brücke musste für mehrere Stunden voll gesperrt werden. An der Aktion beteiligten sich vorwiegend Bauern aus dem Elsass und aus Baden. Sie forderten die EU-Kommission auf, der Welthandelsorganisation WTO keine weiteren Zugeständnisse mehr zu Lasten der europäischen Bauern zu machen.

Die ganze Nachricht im Internet:
http://www.ngo-online.de/ganze_nachricht.php?Nr=12460

Warum die Menschheit ihrem unvermeidlichen Ende entgegensteuert... Eine Mär von Gier und Anspruchsdenken.

*dringgggg* - *bimmel* - *hup* - *schell* - *dang-a-dang-dang-a-dang*

Kommt Ihnen bekannt vor? Solange Sie nicht im afrikanischen Busch oder auf der sprichwörtlichen einsamen Insel wohnen, haben Sie dergleichen unter Garantie schon gehört. Es klingelt allerorts, und kaum ertönt der aktuelle Charthit, greifen zig Leute zu ihren Mobiltelefonen, nur um festzustellen, dass der Nebenmann oder die nette Blonde da drüben dasselbe JAMBA-Sparabo hat. Was für eine Gelegenheit, sie anzusprechen: "Hallo Unbekannte! Auch das Sternchen übersehen?"

Ich sehe nur noch Sterne, wenn ich mir aktuelle Angebote angucke. Nicht, weil die Preise so hoch sind, auch wenn das durchaus ein ebenso guter Grund wäre. Nein, dieser wie Fliegendreck anmutende Fleck neben dem super günstigen Preis heißt, dass er noch interpretiert werden möchte. Glücklicherweise wird eine Interpretationshilfe stets mitgeliefert, in augenfreundlicher 6-Punkte-Schrift, leichtgrau auf Weiß. Wenn Sie die entziffert haben, brauchen Sie nur noch einen befreundeten Juristen zu fragen, wem Sie da Ihre Seele verkaufen. Und das Tolle an der ganzen Sache ist, dass Sie sie gleich mehrfach verkaufen können! Bis die Bank Ihre Konten sperrt.

Es begann mit dem Mobilfunk. Ein geschickter Marketingmensch, der hier ungenannt bleiben soll, erdachte die Strategie „schenken, dann nehmen“. Sie bekommen ein Handy geschenkt, können es aber nicht nutzen, bevor Sie besagte Seele verkauft haben. Genau genommen sind Sie Ihre Seele schon los, wenn Sie das Geschenk annehmen. Man sollte meinen, nach der Geschichte mit dem trojanischen Pferd wären die Menschen klüger geworden.

Ich weiß. Das ist kurzsichtig und idealistisch gedacht. Das trojanische Pferd gibt es immer noch. Es ist von Würmern zerfressen, und die Würmer haben Viren. Geiz ist Geil. Demnächst kostenlos auch auf Ihrem PC*

* Nur in Verbindung mit einem Kashban-Sparabo für 4,99 EUR/Monat für zehn elektronische Kopien dieses Beitrags. Schicke jederzeit "HIERISTMEINGELD" inklusive Kontoverbindung, PIN und TAN an gibmirdeingeld@kashban.de für eine sofortige Kündigung des Abos.

http://www.ngz-online.de/hps/client/ngz/public/pjsub/production_long.hbs?hxmain_object_id=PJSUB::ARTICLE::32515&hxmain_category=::pjsub::opinio::/musik_multimedia/sonstiges


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

07. Dezember 2005

Sechs Tage vor der Abstimmung des Europa-Parlaments zur so genannten Vorratsdatenspeicherung von Telekommunikationsdaten haben Fachleute das Vorhaben bei einer Anhörung im Parlament scharf kritisiert.

Hohe Kosten und neue Sicherheitsrisiken sieht etwa Fiona Taylor vom Verband der europäischen Kommunikationsanbieter: "Wenn Sie wirklich alle IP-Daten zwölf Monate lang speichern wollten, dann bräuchten Sie Datenbanken von einer Größe, die heute unvorstellbar ist." Allein auf die deutschen Unternehmen kämen dadurch nach Schätzungen von Fachleuten Kosten in dreistelliger Millionenhöhe zu.

Wird das Gesetz verabschiedet, dann sind die Provider verpflichtet, Verbindungs- und Standortdaten ihrer Kunden bei Mobilfunk-Gesprächen, Kurzmitteilungen und E-Mails sozusagen auf Vorrat zu speichern. Im Fall schwerer Straftaten sollen die Ermittlungsbehörden auf die Daten zugreifen können.

Behörden erhalten schon jetzt Daten

Kritiker weisen allerdings darauf hin, dass Kriminelle ihre elektronische Kommunikation auch weiterhin anonym führen können - etwa über Internet-Cafés oder öffentliche WLAN-Zugangspunkte. Außerdem ließen sich bei Mails und SMS-Botschaften Verbindungsdaten und Inhalt nur schwer von einander trennen.

"Es ist ja nicht so, dass die Strafverfolger bisher keine Daten zur Verfügung gestellt bekämen", so Taylor weiter, die das Verhältnis der Anbieter zu den Behörden als "fruchtbare Zusammenarbeit" bezeichnete. So seien nach den Anschlägen von Madrid und London Verdächtige auch aufgrund von Providerdaten festgenommen worden.

Sjoera Nas vom Nutzerverband European Digital Rights warnte zusätzlich davor, dass auch Unschuldige ins Visier der Fahnder geraten könnten, etwa dann, wenn wie im Fall von Spam die wahren Absender gefälschte Adressen für ihre Kommunikation benutzten. Für wirkliche Kriminelle sei es jedoch "einfach, die Datenspeicherung zu umgehen, gerade auch im Internet."

(N24.de, Netzeitung)

http://www.n24.de/wirtschaft/multimedia/index.php/n2005120715512400002


Nachricht von der BI Bad Dürkheim

Nachweis von Gentech-DNA aus Monsanto-Mais in Tierorganen und -blut wirft viele Fragen auf.

http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21517/1.html

Wenn das Leben nur noch am Handy und online stattfindet.
http://www.telepolis.de/tp/r4/artikel/21/21487/1.html

This week, even as the ACLU filed an historic lawsuit on behalf of an innocent European kidnapped by the CIA and held in a secret detention center, the president and the secretary of state continued to deny these unlawful practices.

“We abide by the law of the United States. We do not torture,” said President Bush in a White House press conference on Tuesday. But the same morning, across town, the world heard a different story from Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen who was kidnapped during a vacation and transported, or “rendered,” to Afghanistan where he was drugged, beaten and held in secret for five months.

The practice of “extraordinary rendition” violates the Constitution and United States law. Its very purpose is to enable interrogations in places where, in the United States’ view, no laws apply. This week, the practice was also denied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who told reporters “the United States does not transport, and has not transported, detainees from one country to another for the purpose of interrogation using torture.”

As outrage over the government's actions grows at home and abroad, you can do something to tell our leaders and the rest of the world that many, many Americans do not support these illegal and inhumane acts being committed in our name. Urge Congress to vote for the anti-torture amendment sponsored by Senator John McCain.

By telling your Member of Congress to support the McCain amendment, you can help our leaders bolster the prohibition on torture and stop the government from using these practices again.

Take action now!
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=3FlKL78vclNNYTf9vOsVBA..

Top U.S. officials know the story of our client Khaled El-Masri. In fact, they even knew about El-Masri’s rendition and wrongful detention at the time it occurred. But the CIA continued to hold him in the notorious prison known as “the Salt Pit,” long after they knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

But even now Vice President Dick Cheney is personally lobbying Congress to exempt the CIA from the McCain amendment, so that the agency can continue to kidnap, torture and abuse people in its secret prisons.

Go to http://action.aclu.org/torture to take action right now and tell your Members of Congress to support the McCain anti-torture amendment without an exemption for the CIA. http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=F_fR-T6nE4Q0OAP-4IhcGA..

Or, read more before taking action.
http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=RYqlxUIab9j9IuBeD6Y0ew..


Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union



December 7, 2005

Email Congress, Then Learn More at ACLU.ORG

Americans cannot tolerate government kidnappings and secret detention networks that subject innocent people to torture and abuse.

You can learn more about El-Masri v. Tenet and read Khaled El-Masri's story in his own words.

Go to our information page on "extraordinary rendition" to see El-Masri's diagram of his cell in Afghanistan, video from this week's Washington D.C. press conference where El-Masri and ACLU leaders answered questions about the case, the full text of our court filing, El-Masri's own statement and additional resources from the ACLU and others about this unlawful practice.

The United States government has yet to acknowledge its abduction and mistreatment of El-Masri. No U.S. official has yet been held accountable for violating El-Masri's rights to due process and fair treatment.

Take action now! Then, learn more at:
http://www.aclu.org/rendition

With the new grand jury, Fitzgerald continues to consider charges against White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove, who failed to reveal to the FBI and the grand jury in the early days of the investigation that he had provided information about CIA analyst Valerie Plame to Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705Y.shtml

Top Republicans and Democrats exchanged sharp new words over the Iraq war today, as President Bush dismissed as "pessimists" those raising questions about his strategy and calling for a troop withdrawal.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705L.shtml

It would be hard to imagine a more sudden and thorough tarnishing of the Bush administration's credibility than the one taking place here right now. There have been too many reports in the news media about renditions - including one involving a Lebanese-born German citizen, Khaled el-Masri, kidnapped in Macedonia in December 2003 and imprisoned in Afghanistan for several months on the mistaken assumption that he was an associate of the September 11 hijackers - for blanket disclaimers of torture to be widely believed.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705K.shtml

Robert Scheer writes: To see behind the scenes as Christian-right superstar Ralph Reed, bought off by top Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, dupes his grassroots "pro-family" followers into unwittingly supporting casino-rich Indian tribes under the guise of anti-gambling initiatives, is to glimpse moral corruption of biblical proportion.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705J.shtml

The lack of soldiers on the ground has been a hot-button issue since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003. Career military officials believe that's the reason the war hasn't been a "cakewalk," and they blame Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for designing a flawed war plan.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705I.shtml

Common Dreams
by Andrew Bard Schmookler

12/06/05

[W]hen I feel sorry for myself for this burden of having to battle against the Bushites: I remind myself of what my parents' generation had to sacrifice to meet the challenge of World War II. They, too, had lives they wanted to be living -- work they wanted to be doing, sweethearts they wanted to stay with -- but were instead compelled by what history had dealt them to set all that aside. Men of my father's generation not only had to interrupt their lives, they had to risk having no life at all -- and hundreds of thousands of them never returned -- in order to meet the threat posed to all they valued by the rise of evil. Looking at their example, I am able quickly to silence the voice of that inner baby-boomer who feels somehow entitled to have things the way he wants. The ease of our lives -- all that we've been able to take for granted for so long -- is the exception and not the rule in human experience. We have no good reason to suppose that we were promised a rose garden, that history would not some day call upon us to deal with dark and dangerous things...

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1206-25.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Eagle Tribune
by Nat Hentoff

12/06/05

Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day, celebrating the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, without which our founding document would not have become the law of the land. Begun in Northampton, Mass., in November 2001, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, led by Nancy Talanian, has allied with the American Civil Liberties Union and a range of conservative libertarian organizations. Currently among those insisting on essential Patriot Act reforms are the American Conservative Union, the American Library Association, and such business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.These business organizations have joined with civil libertarians to focus on the Patriot Act's sweeping expansion of government powers to obtain a huge range of personal information by claiming only that the records are "relevant to an authorized investigation" on terrorism...

http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/15/etstory.pl?-sec-Editorial+fn-hentoff.1206


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Liberty For All
by Ed Lewis

12/07/05

There is a great risk one takes when one searches for the truth. Granted, the truth will set you free, but it may not be without great pain caused by severe mental anguish. You see, the truth may be in opposition to what one has believed all of one's life. It may, in fact, be the exact opposite of what one has believed. The writer, as have millions of other people, grew up believing that America was the greatest, purest country of all countries that ever existed. He believed that the American people were not evil, that the land held the most moral, ethical, and honest people that had been created...

http://www.libertyforall.net/2005/dec18/beautiful.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Institute for Health Freedom
by staff

12/05

Since the federal government now is the largest payer for health care in the United States, it has the ability to coerce physicians into implementing anti-privacy practices they might not set up in a truly free-market system. Citizens should watch to make sure the federal government does not use its Medicare muscle to apply financial penalties to physicians who do not write electronic prescriptions. All told, a national mandatory (or coerced) electronic prescribing system would make it much easier for Big Brother to tag and track citizens' use of prescription drugs...

http://tinyurl.com/9d2n6


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Bert McLachlan

12/06/05

Congress is treating the deficit as a big joke, but surely most people aren't so stupid as to think that 'deficit reduction' is really that. Congress has outspent its own income in 45 of the last 50 years, thereby running up deficits by over $5 trillion. But $4 trillion of those deficits were in just the last 20 years. And then President Bush's budget submission this last February projected $3 trillion more of deficits in just the next 6 years. That is how much Congress itself actually spends in excess of its own income tax revenue...

http://www.mises.org/story/1963


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

WorldNetDaily
by Walter E. Williams

12/07/05

Economic ignorance, misconceptions and superstition drive us toward totalitarianism because they make us more willing to hand over greater control of our lives to politicians. That results in a diminution of our liberties. Think back to the gasoline price controls during the 1970s. The price controls caused shortages. To deal with the shortages, restrictions were imposed on purchases. Then national highway speed limits were enacted. Then there were more calls for smaller and less crashworthy cars. With the recent gasoline supply shocks, we didn't experience the shortages, long lines and closed gas stations seen during the 1970s. Why? Prices were allowed to perform their allocative function -- get people to use less gas and get suppliers to supply more...

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47781


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

LewRockwell.Com
by Tom Engelhardt, Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith

12/07/05

"How has the Bush administration gotten away with such apparently illegal acts as hiding intelligence reports from Congress, creating secret prisons, establishing death squads, kidnapping people and spiriting them across national borders, and planning unprovoked wars? Part of the answer lies in the administration's deliberate effort, initiated even before September 11, 2001, to tear down any existing legal and institutional means for preventing, exposing, or punishing violations of national and international law by American officials...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/engelhardt/engelhardt141.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

AntiWar.Com
by Justin Raimondo

12/07/05

Government exists for one reason and for one reason only: the self-perpetuation of the power, perks, and privileges of our rulers and their supporters. Has the distribution of 'homeland security' funding become a way for our elected representatives to buy votes at everyone else's expense? Of course it has: that's the way the system works. This is the 'democracy' we want to export to the ends of the earth, not in its corrupted form but in its purest essence. I conclude, from this structural critique of what's wrong with our anti-terrorist effort, that: (a) our leaders will continue their policy, so vividly on display during the Katrina catastrophe, of putting America last, (b) another attack is inevitable, and (c) our rulers will take the same lesson from 9/11-II that they learned in the first instance -- they'll use the occasion to grab more power and launch more wars...

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8218


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Boston Globe

12/06/05

In 1987, Samuel A. Alito Jr., then the US attorney for the district of New Jersey, signed a bank fraud indictment of a New Jersey man named Larry Kopp. Later, when Alito became a federal appeals judge, he put the Kopp case on his 'standing recusal' list, seeking to uphold his promise that he would disqualify himself from any case that he had supervised as US attorney. But in 1992, Alito was noted as 'present' in the court's final decision in the Kopp case, in which the vacating of Kopp's sentence was upheld. If Alito did take part, it would appear to be a fourth instance in which the Supreme Court pick was recorded as being in a case he had promised to avoid. The chief judge of the appeals court, Anthony J. Scirica, said in a telephone interview that the clerk should have kept Alito from considering the case, and that there was no way to know from the record whether he had participated...

http://tinyurl.com/cswkp


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Sadly enough, nobody has bordered to ascertain the health implications of their actions not even the State or Federal Ministry of Health.

Should the masts collapse for one reason or another, the consequences may be very disastrous.

It is unclear if health ministry (Federal or State) had made any effort whatsoever to find out whether or not the indiscriminate erection of GSM masts pose any form of danger to people’s health, especially those who work or live close to where these masts are erected. It is very unfortunate.

I am therefore calling on both the federal and state ministries of health to carry independent survey investigations with a view to coming out with results that will enable Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike to know whether or not siting of GSM masts near residential areas, schools, health centres, churches or even police stations can be hazardous in any form whatsoever.

May I equally call on the Nigerian Communications Commission to properly monitor and regulate the activities of mobile phone operators in the country as what is worth doing is worth doing well.

This call has become necessary following emerging evidence that there could be some very serious health implications, most notably an increased incidence of cancer for people working or residing in the vicinity of mobile phone base transmitter masts

Bearing this in mind, one can now understand why former president of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, 1n 1995 issued a formal memorandum stating that transmitter masts should not be sited in schools or residential areas.

In the same vein, in 2000, a special committee in the United Kingdom (UK), the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (also known as the Seeward Commission’s) issued a report on mobile phones safety issues, while follow up reports were issued in 2003, and in that same year, the expert group concluded its work and came up with its findings.

Also in 1999, an expert panel assembled by the Royal Society of Canada issued a report on mobile phones safety, regarding mobile phone base stations and the expert panel equally concluded its surveys and made public the outcome of its investigations.

It is equally on record that an Expert Panel in U.S.A. did something about the safety of mobile phone base stations as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 2001, published a statement on mobile phone base stations and also came out with its reports.

The Health Council of the Netherlands was not left out in this very crusade as it issued a report in 2002, on the safety of mobile phones, with regards to mobile phone base stations, and as in other cases it also made public its findings.

Infact, the list of countries that have at one time or another constituted panels or commissions on the safety of mobile phone base stations is endless.

All the panels and commissions constituted by different countries of the world had one thing in common as none of them supported siting of GSM masts close to schools, police stations, churches, healthcentres and residential areas as we are experiencing here in Nigeria today.

Even if they had supported a thing like that, is it not better and safer for authorities concerned, to carry out their own survey for the fact that their climate or weather condition is quite different from what we have here in Nigeria.

In effect, what is not harmful there may be harmful here or vice versa, and this makes it imperative for both the State and Federal Ministries of Health to carry out surveys with a view to ascertaining the health implications of indiscriminate siting of GSM masts by GSM phone operators in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Communications Commission whose duty it is to regulate the activities of GSM phone operators in the country should also wake up from its slumber and live up to expectations by monitoring and regulating effectively the activities of the operators and insisting on undiluted compliance.

http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=12/07/2005&qrTitle=NCC%20and%20telecommunications%20(II)&qrColumn=OPINION
(excerpt)

Dundee East MSP Shona Robison is to press for detailed planning guidance from the Scottish Executive to end the “lose-lose” situation suffered by residents opposing the erection of mobile phone masts close to their homes, writes Steve Scott.
Ms Robison expressed her “great disappointment” with the planning inquiry decision to uphold an appeal by mobile operators 02 against the decision of Dundee City Council to refuse permission to upgrade a telecoms mast close to the Campfield Square shopping centre in Barnhill.

“I believe the residents had a good case, professionally put together by Dr Shirley McEwan and other local residents, and I am sure they will be furious to see their concerns dismissed out of hand like this,’’ she said.

“I was a witness to the inquiry last month and while the reporter listened to our concerns with sympathy, the planning regulations as they relate to these masts at the moment mean his hands were tied, and it makes it a lose-lose situation for everyone.

“I will continue to press for greater guidance from the Executive because it is intolerable that residents’ views on planning decisions in their area are continually being disregarded in this way.’’

Ms Robison is also calling for mobile phone users to put pressure on the companies to invest further in new technologies such as BT’s Microconnect System, which uses less invasive equipment that in most cases would not require planning permission.

“I understand there has to be more investigation into the system, but I was very annoyed by the way 02 dismissed it at the inquiry,’’ she continued.

“It has worked on trials in several English cities and hopefully mobile phone users will put pressure on their operators to research better technologies which might end the requirement for these mast eyesores.”

© All copyright D C Thomson & Co Ltd., 2005

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2005/12/07/story7816736t0.shtm

http://counterpunch.org/junaid11072005.html


Informant: Friends

by David Corn, TomPaine.com

From the war to the economy, this holiday season bears the signs of a great nation in decline.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20051207/that_endofempire_feeling.php

Take Action Now
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=12428

Please contact your Members of Congress today to urge them to keep the anti-torture amendment exactly as passed by the U.S. Senate and to oppose the Graham Amendment.

Click here to take action
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=12428

We need your help to ensure that members of the House support the Anti-Torture Amendment as passed by the Senate, and oppose the Graham Amendment.

Some Representatives are reportedly trying to strip the anti-torture amendment. Please send an email and call your Representative today to urge them to keep the Anti-Torture Amendment exactly as passed by the Senate, and to support the fundamental right to due process by opposing the Graham Amendment!

Click here to take action now.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=12428

A critical vote in the House of Representatives could come as early as tonight. Representatives may soon vote on how to advise a small group of their colleagues who are negotiating the fate of the Anti-Torture Amendment. They might also vote on the fate of the Graham Amendment that would dangerously restrict the right for detainees at Guantanamo to challenge their detention in federal courts.

Click here to take action now.
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=12428

You can also call your Member of Congress:

U.S. Representative

Anti-Torture Talking points

Because there are differences between the House and Senate passed versions of the bills, Congress will appoint a select group of Representatives and Senators to a "conference committee" responsible for reconciling the discrepancies between House and Senate versions of legislation and agreeing on one final version for both chambers to vote on and send to the President for signature. For this reason, we'd like activists to contact both of their Senators and their Representative in support of the Anti-Torture Amendment and opposing the Graham Amendment.

-- As your constituent, I urge you to adopt the Anti-Torture Amendment, as originally passed by the U.S. Senate. I urge you to forcefully oppose any effort to modify or to strip the language of the Senate passed amendment from the Department of Defense Appropriations bill. And I urge you to press the President to sign the provision into law without revisions.

-- Any attempts to create exemptions for the CIA, a presidential waiver on the ban, or other qualification would put the U.S. government in a position of authorizing inhumane treatment, in violation of core principles that Americans embrace and in violation of U.S. and international law. Any such revisions to the original amendment should be overwhelmingly opposed.

-- Torture is a tool of terror, not liberty. No country can hope to promote freedom, democracy and justice if it also claims a right to inflict inhuman cruelty. America’s best values will only survive for our children if we stand by them in fearful and uncertain times. We must never let terrorists influence standards for moral and lawful behavior.

-- I am particularly concerned to hear that some Representatives may want to strip the anti-torture language from the Appropriations bill, and let identical language wither and never be signed into law on the authorization bill. The Senate passed anti-torture language must be adopted without modification on both bills. I urge you also to oppose the Graham Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill and to ensure that Congress protect core principles of justice and due process, especially the basic right to Habeas Corpus. The ability to challenge one’s detention in a court of law is absolutely critical to protect the human rights of anyone in custody.

-- The US Army Field Manual recognizes that torture and inhuman treatment is ineffective, stating that "Use of torture and other illegal methods is a poor technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and induce the source to say what he thinks the interrogator wants to hear."

-- As my elected official, I urge you to press for the adoption of the Anti-Torture Amendment in the form passed by Senate, and to urge the President to sign the provision into law without revisions.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/

JOANNE MARINER

Stonewalling on CIA Abuses in Europe
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/mariner/20051207.html

FindLaw columnist and human rights attorney Joanne Mariner discusses Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's refusal to provide a substantive, factual response to the European Union's request for details regarding possible Europe-related activities of the reported CIA secret prison network. The EU's request comes in the context of its inquiry to figure out whether international law was violated, within its jurisdiction, in connection with the network. Rice did promise that the U.S. would not use torture -- but Mariner argues that this promise offers only cold comfort, in light of the U.S.'s current, narrow definition of what counts as torture, and of the scope of the relevant treaties.

Guest Column
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20051207_bergen.html
JENNIFER VAN BERGEN
Why Did the Fourth Circuit Suggest it Might Vacate its Decision In the Case of Alleged Dirty Bomb Conspirator Jose Padilla?
FindLaw guest columnist Jennifer Van Bergen, a journalist with a law degree, discusses possible reasons for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's recent, surprising decision to ask for briefing in the Jose Padilla case. Padilla is the federal detainee who was originally said to be a dirty-bomb co-conspirator, and then indicted, recently, on separate charges. The Fourth Circuit asked for briefing on whether it should vacate its decision upholding Padilla's three-and-a-half-year detention in light of the change in the government's rationale for detention.

Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2005


UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545


From ufpj-news

The potential perils of electronic voting systems are bedeviling state officials as a January 1, 2006, deadline approaches for complying with strict standards for machine reliability.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120705Z.shtml

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/3731/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Die Plattform gibt folgende Pressemeldung bekannt!

Seit über fünf Jahren kämpfen wir gegen die "Grüne Gentechnik" und bezeichnen diese, als den größten Wahnsinn den die Menschheit bisher je erlebt hatte! Außer katastrophalen Auswirkungen durch diese "Technik", gibt es kein einziges Produkt weltweit, was durch die "Grüne Gentechnik" für den Menschen, Tiere und die Umwelt nachhaltig von Vorteil wäre! In Amerika wo die Gentechnahrung in den Verkaufsregalen seit zehn Jahren angeboten wird, ist der Krebs um 47 % gestiegen! Viele namhafte Wissenschaftler sehen darin den Grund! Obwohl es noch keine menschlich Studie dafür gibt, beweisen aber alle Tierstudien sehr genau, wenn man Tieren Gentechnachrung füttert, dass sie sehr schnell davon krank werden und auch rasch sterben, wogegen parallel dazu mit herkömmlichen Futter gefütterte Tier ganz normal weiterleben! Mehr davon auf unserer Homepage http://www.proleben.at ! Weil diese Sache irreversibel ist und uns alle berührt, haben wir die EU bereits zweimal deswegen eingeklagt! Alle beiden Klagen wurden aber abgeschmettert, so wie jüngst auch die Klage vom Land Oberösterreich! Deswegen haben wir die Menschenrechte eingeklagt, die die "Grüne Gentechnik" verletzt. Jeder Mensch hat das Recht auf eine gesunde Nahrung, hat das Recht auf eine gesunde Umwelt... (78 solcher ) Menschenrechte haben wir beim Hochkomisseriat für Menschenrechte in Genf erst mal weltweit eingeklagt! Am 7.Nov. haben wir diese dort mündlich dargelegt! Das Plenum wiedersprach uns bis auf einen Punkt nicht! Das Hochkomisseriat für Menschenrechte ist der Meinung essen gehört nicht mehr zu den Menschenrechten und das befremdet uns schon sehr! Wir haben auch wohlweislich keine schriftlich Stellungnahme erhalten! Auch wurde es nicht im Internet veröffentlicht, obwohl dies gesetzlich verankert ist und auch bei allen anderen Anklagen so praktiziert wird! (Man will das ganz einfach totschweigen)!

Deshalb senden wir diese hochinteressante Meldung an Sie. Im Anhang befinden sich: Das Titelbild der Pakt - Broschüre für Menschenrechte, (Recht auf gesunde Nahrung etc.)! die über 150 Staaten unterschrieben haben, unter anderem auch Österreich!

http://www.omega-news.info/internationaler_pakt.jpg

Die Presseaussendung! Der Parallelbericht in Kurzform. Die Originalfassung ist unter http://www.proleben.at (news -downloads ganz oben als erstes abrufbar)! Wir hoffen sehr, dass Sie dem mehr als dem üblichen Aufmerksamkeit schenken, da diese Sache uns alle angeht, denn wie lange können wir uns noch mit natürlicher Nahrung ernähren?

Mit den herzlichsten Grüßen an Sie und Ihr gesamtes Team. Für Rücksprachen wie immer:

I.A.

Kontakt: Richard Leopold Tomasch, Tel.: 04235/2347; rileto@proleben.at ; http://www.proleben.at ; http://www.proleben.at/presse für Bilder zum Herunterladen!


Kein Recht auf gesunde Nahrung?

UNO ignoriert, dass die "grüne Gentechnik" zahlreichen Menschenrechten widerspricht

Die österreichische Antigentechnik-Plattform "Pro Leben" ist erschüttert über den vergangenen Woche vom UN-Ausschuss für wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturellen Rechte veröffentlichten Bericht zur Lage der Menschenrechte in Österreich. Denn erstmals weltweit hat "Pro Leben" vor diesem UN-Menschenrechtsausschuss schriftlich und - am 7. November in Genf - mündlich dargelegt, dass die "Grüne Gentechnik" gegen die Menschenrechte verstößt. Auch Österreich ist keine Ausnahme, weil die Republik die gesetzlichen Voraussetzungen für den Einsatz von gentechnisch veränderten Organismen (GVO) geschaffen hat. Obwohl verantwortliche Mitglieder des Menschenrechtskomitees in anschließenden Gesprächen Zustimmung zu unseren Einwänden äußerten, wurde das Thema im UN-Bericht totgeschwiegen. Das Komitee widerlegte zwar keinen angeführten Punkt, fühlte sich aber letztlich "nicht zuständig", wie dies Mitglieder selbst zugaben.

Doch wie kann sich der für Menschenrechte zuständige Ausschuss nicht zuständig fühlen, wenn durch eine Technologie, nach der niemand gerufen hat, zahlreiche Rechte des Internationalen Paktes verletzt werden? Dabei handelt es sich um:

· Das Recht der Völker auf Selbstbestimmung (Artikel 1) (Alle § im Paktvertrag verankert)!
· Das Recht auf freie Verfügung über natürliche Reichtümer und Mittel bzw. Verbot des Raubs der Existenzmittel eines Volkes (Artikel 1, Absatz 2)
· Das Recht auf Arbeit (Artikel 6)
· Das Recht auf Nahrung (Artikel 11)
· Das Recht auf Gesundheit (Artikel 12)
· Das Recht auf Freiheit von Wissenschaft und Forschung (Artikel 15)

(Siehe auch beigefügte Kurzfassung oder Langfassung unter http://www.proleben.at/Parallelbericht_ProLeben.pdf ).

Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Österreicher und EU-Bürger lehnt die Gentechnik in der Landwirtschaft und in der Nahrung ab. Die Verunreinigung des Saatgutes, illegale Importe von GVO und die Kontamination gentechnikfreier Pflanzen durch Pollenflug werden toleriert oder riskiert, wenn die Gentechnik Einzug hält. Wenn der Staat beispielsweise den Anbau von genmanipuliertem Mais freigibt, lässt er zu, dass mehrere gesundheitsbedenkliche Stoffe in unsere Nahrung gelangen.

Republik und UNO müssen Farbe bekennen

Unsere Lebensgrundlagen Gesundheit, Arbeit und Umwelt sind durch GVO gefährdet. Auch wenn der UN-Menschenrechtsausschuss vor dieser Problematik die Augen verschloss, werden wir alles daran setzen, die Gentechnik in die Schranken zu weisen: Zum einen streben wir eine Klage gegen die Republik Österreich an, damit sie die Gentechnikfreiheit verfassungsmäßig verankert, zum anderen werden wir und unsere Mitstreiter dafür sorgen, dass der UN-Menschenrechtsausschuss von NGOs anderer Länder auch in Zukunft regelmäßig mit diesem Thema konfrontiert wird. Kläger: Richard Leopold Tomasch (Sprecher von Pro Leben) DI Volker Helldorff (von der Gentechnik bedrohter Biobauer, Pro Leben) Karl Raab (von der Gentechnik bedrohter Biobauer, Pro Leben)

Kontakt: Richard Leopold Tomasch, Tel.: 04235/2347; rileto@proleben.at ; http://www.proleben.at http://www.proleben.at/presse Bilder zum herunterladen (Zürich und Genf)!


Parallelbericht zum 3. und 4. Staatenbericht der Republik Österreich über die Umsetzung des Internationalen Paktes über wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte

Soziale Menschenrechte in Österreich

Menschenrechtsverletzungen in der Landwirtschaft und bei den Verbrauchern durch die Einführung der Gentechnik

Vorgelegt durch: Antigentechnik-Plattform Pro Leben Österreich

Zusammenfassung des Parallelberichtes und Vorschläge für die "concluding observations":

Durch die Einführung der Gentechnik in Österreich werden folgende Rechte des Internationalen Paktes verletzt:

Verletzungen des Rechts der Völker auf Selbstbestimmung (Artikel 1):

· 80 Prozent der Verbraucher sind gegen Gentechnik. 1997 stimmten 1,2 Millionen von 8 Millionen Österreichern gegen Gentechnik
· Verunreinigung des Saatgutes - schon nach einer Aussaat ist alles kontaminiert, ohne dass die Bauern davon wissen und es wollen.
· Illegale Importe - mangels ausreichender Kontrollen gelangen nicht für den Verzehr erlaubte Gentech-Nahrungsmittel in die Supermärkte. Amnesty International sieht das als "schwerwiegende Bedrohung für das Leben der Bauern und Verbraucher".
· Kontaminierung durch Pollenflug und Witterung - niemand bleibt von GVO verschont. Sicherheitsabstände sind unnütz. Niemand haftet für die wirklichen Schäden.

Absatz 2: Recht auf freie Verfügung über natürliche Reichtümer und Mittel / Verbot des Raubs der Existenzmittel eines Volkes:

· Konzerne verkaufen Saatgut, das nur 1x benutzt werden kann - Bauern werden abhängig und müssen jedes Jahr neues Saatgut kaufen.
· Darüber hinaus patentieren die Konzerne mehr und mehr Pflanzen: Bauern sind gezwungen schon für die Erlaubnis, dieses Saatgut zu verwenden, zu bezahlen. "Das ist eine Versklavung der Bauern" (Vandana Shiva, alternative Nobelpreisträgerin).

Verletzung des Rechts auf Arbeit ( Artikel 6)

Das Recht auf Arbeit aller gentechnikfrei wirtschaftenden Bauern wird durch Patente auf Leben, die zunehmende Abhängigkeit von Großkonzernen über Saatgut und Verträge sowie die drohende Kontaminierung durch Nachbarn gefährdet. Da mit Einführung der Gentechnik in der Landwirtschaft die gentechnikfreie Produktion langsam aber sicher zu teuer wird, wären Landwirte gezwungen, ihren Betrieb aufzugeben oder auf GVO - und damit in die direkte Abhängigkeit der Konzerne - umzusteigen.

Verletzung des Rechts auf Nahrung (Artikel 11):

Durch den Anbau von genmanipuliertem Mais gelangen zwei hochwirksame Gifte und ein Antibiotikum in unsere Nahrung. Mit Gentech-Pflanzen verlieren die Bauern ihre Arbeit, ihren Zugang zu Nahrungsmitteln und ihr Einkommen verringert sich um bis zu 60 Prozent. Lt. FAO und dem Generell Comment No. 12 hat der Staat die Pflicht, den Zugang zu angemessener Nahrung und Nahrung ohne gesundheitsbedenkliche Stoffe durchzusetzen und sicherzustellen, dass Veränderungen der Nahrung sich nicht nachteilig auf die Zusammensetzung auswirken dürfen.

Verletzung des Rechts auf Gesundheit (Artikel 12)

Der 100. deutsche Ärztetag und zahlreiche im Parallelbericht aufgeführte Studien weisen auf, wie GVO in irreversible Schäden für die Gesundheit - bis hin zum Tod - resultieren.

Verletzung des Rechts auf Freiheit von Wissenschaft und Forschung (Art. 15)

95 Prozent der Wissenschaftler arbeiten für die Gentech-Industrie. Bei Studien, die Risiken und Gefahren der Gentechnik nachweisen, wird versucht, die Veröffentlichung mit allen Mitteln zu verhindern.

Empfehlungen für die "concluding observations" (Anm.: wurden leider nicht angenommen):

Das Komitee teilt der österreichischen Bundesregierung seine große Sorge über die Einführung der Gentechnik mit, die nach den vorliegenden Berichten und Erkenntnissen eine massive Gefährdung der Ernährungssicherheit und Gesundheit des österreichischen Volkes bedeuten.

Der Ausschuss empfiehlt deshalb der Bundesrepublik Österreich, dringend den Einsatz von Gentechnik in Landwirtschaft und Nahrungsmittelproduktion sowie die Einführung von gentechnisch veränderten Produkten für die Nahrungsmittelherstellung - z. B. auch im Tierfutter - zu verbieten, bis Langzeitstudien (bei Medikamenten 7 - 10 Jahre) durch unabhängige Forschung jegliche Risiken ausschließen. Die Einführung einer Schadenshaftung für die Verursacher, die Konzerne, wird eine objektive Risikoforschung unterstützen.

The House may vote as early as tomorrow (Wednesday, December 7) on a PATRIOT Act "compromise" bill, known as a "conference report," that is identical or close to the unacceptable version drafted before Congress's Thanksgiving recess.

What the House may vote on: The conference report fails to make adequate changes to Section 215, expands National Security Letter powers, and otherwise disregards civil liberties. It places seven year sunsets on sections 206, 215 and "lone wolf" and makes the rest of the PATRIOT Act permanent. (For more information about the bill, see http://www.bordc.org/newsletter/bordc-act-alert39.php#draft .)

As an alternative to the conference report, the House may vote on a "continuing resolution," which would extend all expiring provisions, without changes, for a specific period, such as 3-6 months. A continuing resolution would extend the debate, so it is preferable to a bad bill.

Take Action/Talking Points: Please phone or fax your House member today or tomorrow (sorry, not enough time for emails!) and tell him or her that the conference report is unacceptable because [insert the issues you feel are most important], and to vote against it on behalf of his/her constituents, including those in [cities and counties in their district], which have passed civil liberties resolutions. Ask your Representative to oppose the conference report and vote in favor of a continuing resolution, if one is proposed.

Look up your Representative's contact information at
http://www.house.gov .
See expanded talking points at
http://www.bordc.org/newsletter/expandedpoints.php.
Look up resolutions passed in your district at
http://www.bordc.org/list.php?sortAlpha=1 . We will send updates on House and Senate votes when we have more information.
Thanks for all you do,

Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Web: http://www.bordc.org
Email: info@bordc.org
Phone: 413-582-0110
Fax: 413-582-0116


Informant: Mofmars3

I'M NOT KIDDING!

It was stunning and surreal to listen to the audio clip Jerry Springer put together yesterday during his Air America Radio Talk show. He took a speech Nixon delivered during the Viet Nam war and ONLY changed the words Viet Nam with the word Iraq. It is, practically, verbatim what Bush has been saying. It is as thou Bush is following some kind of script!

I'm glad I didn't share this yesterday for this recording becomes more apropos in light of the attacks Howard Dean has been receiving today for saying that we are making the same mistakes we did in Viet Nam and that the results would be similar...the Iraq War is unwindable.

Are we, again, going to wait until we are, once again, in the 10s of thousands of our dead soldiers before we finally get it!

http://PlayAudio-234.com/play.asp?m=246855&f=VXSCVD&ps=13&p=1 (2 min)

Jack Topel

Interview: New consumer-tracking technology threatens to make personal privacy a thing of the past.

Katherine Albrecht
By Michael Beckel

December 6, 2005

related articles

Who Holds the Clicker? Neuroscientists hope that brain implants can treat intractable mental illness. But who would control those brave new minds?

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/11/who_holds_clicker.html

P L U S : The Watchful & the Wary Mining the Matrix
http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2004/09/08_400.html

Imagine a future in which your every belonging is marked with a unique number identifiable with the swipe of a scanner; where your refrigerator keeps track of its contents; where the location of your car is always pinpoint-able; and where signal-emitting microchips storing personal information are implanted beneath your skin or embedded in your inner organs.

This is the future of radio frequency identification (RFID), a technology whose application has so far been limited largely to supply-chain management (enabling companies, for example, to keep track of the quantity of a given product they have in stock). RFID is set to be applied in a whole range of consumer settings. Already being tested in products as innocuous as shampoo, lip balm, razor blades, and cream cheese, RFID-enabled items are promoted by retailers and marketers as the next revolution in customer convenience. Consumer advocates say this is paving the way for a nightmarish future where personal privacy is a quaint throwback.

Katherine Albrecht has been at the forefront of efforts to sound the alarm about the (already) $10 billion-a-year customer surveillance industry. As the founder and director of the consumer advocacy group Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN, a nod to C.S. Lewis’ valiant prince), she has uncovered everything from hidden cameras to tracking devices in shopping carts to fake shoppers who follow you around stores.

In her new book, Spychips (co-written with colleague Liz McIntyre and published by Nelson Current), Albrecht, whose work is motivated in part by deeply held Christian beliefs, details how global corporations—and governments—are working to turn RFID into a way of tracking the day-to-day activities of ordinary citizens.

“Regardless of whether your beliefs are progressive or conservative, socially or politically, everybody’s got a reason to not want somebody spying on them,” she says. “Whether you’re afraid that Big Brother is going to take the form of an evil corporation or Big Brother is going to take the form of an evil government or take whatever form, everybody’s got a reason to be concerned.”

Mother Jones recently talked with Albrecht about her consumer activism, the techniques of customer manipulation, and a future where RFID is ubiquitous and personal privacy in short supply.

Mother Jones: What are the greatest threats posed by radio frequency identification technology in particular in the surveillance operations of stores?

Katherine Albrecht: The problem with RFID has to do with the fact that the RFID tags can be so easily hidden into products—things people buy and carry—and the reader devices can be so easily hidden into aspects of the environment. This makes it extremely easy for someone who wants to observe and watch people in these surreptitious ways to do so. We’ve identified three different arenas that the RFID threat could come from: marketers, the government, and criminals.

MJ: What examples have you seen in those three areas?

KA: The Metro, the RFID industry’s showcase retail outlet in Germany, is a good example of a retailer abusing RFID in a surreptitious way. About a year and a half ago, we toured the store for over three hours. The next day I was giving a talk to a group of Germans on privacy and RFID. We had set up a $200 reader device we had bought off the Internet to read the RFID tags off the Pantene shampoo and the Gillette razor products and just on a lark, one of my colleagues held his frequent shopper card up to the reader device and a number appeared on the screen. We found out that they had actually tagged us—and apparently 10,000 other shoppers—at the store, by giving out these cards without being told that they contained RFID tracking devices.

That’s the retailer’s dream: Instead of having to rely on all of this extremely expensive technology to follow you and watch you walk around the store, they can issue you something that you put in your wallet willingly. That way they could figure out how long you stood in front of the bread aisle or they could figure out how long your shopping trip took. They could identify you from the moment you walked in the door. They could identify your value to the store and then treat you differently depending on how profitable you are.

MJ: Companies are actually thinking like that?

KA: Oh, absolutely. I have thousands of pages to back that up. Actually, the whole current retail environment is set up to maximize profit. There are things that have been going on long before RFID became available to retailers that are quite revolting. They’ve got shelf cameras that can zoom in and capture your customer expression as you look at a shelf. They’ve got fake shoppers who can literally follow you around and record what you say to the people you’re shopping with. It’s a $10 billion per year industry. And it’s almost entirely invisible to the average consumer.

MJ: And what can the average consumer do to fight back against this?

KA: The first thing is to become informed about it, because I think very few people have any clue at all that it’s even happening. We detail a lot of this at our NoCards.org website. We’ve protested shopper cards, which are essentially a tool to get you to reveal your purchasing patterns [with the aid of] very sophisticated data mining filters. We recommend a multi-tier approach: educate yourself, educate other people, boycott stores that engage in it, punish them financially by withholding your shopping dollars from them. If the punishment becomes more painful than the desired reward, just like with anything else, companies will pull back from these practices.

MJ: What motivates your advocacy against RFID technology?

KA: What motivates me is an absolute resistance against the idea that we would all just be reduced to being numbers and tagged and tracked like cattle. When I see RFID and I think about a world in which the powers that be—be they corporate or government—can essentially watch, surveil, track, manipulate, and control the people, that’s what motivates me: a desire to see that not happen, to my generation, to my children, to my grandchildren. History is going to judge us based on how we respond to this threat now.

MJ: So, you walk into a store and you purchase something using the store card, or get a product with one of those RFID tag devices. Can you walk through some of the things that are going on from the surveillance perspective?

KA: Let’s say I buy a pair of size 7 women’s Nike running shoes with a credit card. Currently, most major national chains are recording information about what people are buying. In the future, however, my pair of size 7 Nike running shoes will have a unique ID number in an RFID tag embedded in the sole—unless we stop it—so anytime that I step on carpeting or a floor tile that’s been equipped with an RFID reader, it can scan that number and know: “Hey, I’m at the Atlanta courthouse, and I just saw shoe number 308247 step by. Let me cross-reference that in the database. That’s the shoe that was purchased by Katherine Albrecht.”

And shoes are a particularly interesting example to think of in that regard because we don’t trade shoes with other people, for a variety of hygiene and fitness reasons, and most of us tend to wear only a few pairs of shoes regularly. So if you can identify a pair of shoes as belonging to an individual and strategically locate reader devices—put them in the entrance to the airport, the entrance to the courthouse, the entrance to the Wal-Mart store—you can pinpoint the time and place at which a person was seen entering that location. That opens up a whole new horizon of tracking capability to watch people, for marketers and homeland security folks.

MJ: How might the government use this technology for homeland security?

KA: Depending on your politics, you may attend a peace rally or a gun show or a talk by a Muslim cleric or a union meeting or a particular political rally, all of which are protected by the First Amendment. But in the RFID world, federal agents could attend that meeting with a hand-held reader hidden in a backpack, mill around long enough to capture a couple thousand RFID numbers associated with the people at the meeting, upload all of that to a central database, cross-reference it, and figure out everybody who was there.

Also, once you’ve got the private sector wielding all of this technology, they are at liberty to sell that information to the federal government. At that point, the government does not run a foul of Constitution restrictions for essentially spying on its own citizens. There are a lot of private sector-government partnerships in sharing of this information once it’s been gathered, and we anticipate that there will be more and more of that in coming years.

MJ: That seems to require an enormous about of infrastructure and cooperation between these businesses and the database registration.

KA: Pieces of this are already happening. When you make a purchase, records, including your identity and all of the things you bought are collected and recorded. And there are companies that specialize in purchase-record consolidation, such as Information Resources Inc.

MJ: How far away is that future?

KA: That future is going to happen as soon as we allow them to put RFID tags on the things we wear and carry. If you ask the industry, that future is by 2010. When the industry gets RFID tags down to five cents, or preferably a fraction of a penny, at that point, I think we’ll begin to see them appearing on everything, and we’re really looking at a future in which every physical object on earth will be uniquely numbered and trackable in real-time all the time.

MJ: How can RFID tags be used in a consumer responsible way?

KA: This is a great technology if you want to track things from point A to point B. If you run a warehouse and want to keep track of the inventory in the warehouse, RFID is a super way to do it. Conceivably, RFID could have some consumer benefits, but they absolutely pale in comparison to the risks that this technology poses. Industry will tell you, “Won’t it be great when you can waltz through a check out line without having to stop and stand in line?” If the price I have to pay for that is having all of my belongings remotely identifiable and being under the thumb of Big Brother, I would rather stand in line. The trade off just seems so ludicrously lop-sided.

MJ: What alternatives do you suggest for responsible marketers?

KA: I would say let people make their own decisions without trying to manipulate them. The advice I give to professional marketers is “If you can’t tell people you’re doing it, you shouldn’t do it.” I don’t think that the marketers’ challenge is so great right now that they have to resort to these kinds of underhanded tactics to meet their objectives. I want to buy something on the merits of the product.

MJ: What’s your take on the VeriChip Company and Tommy Thompson—former Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Bush administration and now VeriChip Board member—advocating more RFID technology for medical information?

KA: It absolutely scares the heck out of me. In the last six months to a year, this company has really stepped up its efforts to get some powerful players behind it. The fact that people listen to this with a straight face is even more extraordinary to me. You’ve got Tommy Thompson talking about linking medical records with a chip implanted in your arm. You’ve got Senator Joe Biden in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings talking about implant chips to track people with a straight face. It’s unbelievable how quickly we’ve gone from saying “Oh, that’s pet chipping technology, we’ll never put that in people” to people with a straight face suddenly talking about implanting chips into American citizens. Terrifying.

Michael Beckel is an investigative fellow at Mother Jones.

© 2005 The Foundation for National Progress

http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2005/12/albrecht.html

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Tracking by tagging our children
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1240202/

Arbeitsamt und Arbeitszwang

Alltägliche Schikanen

An das Arbeitslosenzentrum Frankfurt

„Liebe Frau Dr. Sommerfeld oder Arbeitslosenzentrum, heute muß ich Ihnen schreiben, was im Hildesheimer Arbeitsamt abgeht…“ So beginnt ein persönlicher Brief von H.R. vom 10.10.2005 über das „Fordern und Fördern“ im lebenswerten Hessen an FALZ Frankfurt.
http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/realpolitik/zwang/hildesheim.html


Trainingsmaßnahmen und andere Umschulungen

Weiterbildung für Arbeitslose

Vom Umtausch ausgeschlossen

Weniger Teilnehmer, kürzere Kurse: Bildungsgutscheine für Arbeitslose werfen mehr Probleme auf als sie lösen. Artikel von Fabinne Melzer in Süddeutsche Zeitung vom 02.12.2005
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,jkm1/jobkarriere/erfolggeld/artikel/477/65412/

Dazu unser Un-Zitat des Tages:

"…Wir tun viel zur Eingliederung Langzeitarbeitsloser. Wir haben Einarbeitungsmaßnahmen, wir haben Training on the Job und ähnliches. Wir erfahren wegen der Forderung in unserem Programm, die Zahl der Saisonarbeitskräfte aus dem Ausland um ein Viertel zu reduzieren, großen Widerstand. Wir sollten vielleicht einfach einmal darüber nachdenken, ob diese Trainingsmaßnahmen nicht auch den Körper betreffen sollten und nicht nur den Kopf und ob wir nicht vielleicht einen Monat lang den Arbeitslosen Fitnessangebote machen sollten, damit sie dann, wenn sie eingesetzt werden, tatsächlich die von ihnen erwartete Arbeit leisten können…“ Ilse Falk (CDU/CSU) lt. Plenarprotokoll - Vorab-Veröffentlichung von der 6.Sitzung des Bundestags am 2. Dezember 2005

http://www.bundestag.de/bic/plenarprotokolle/plenarprotokolle/16006.html


Aus: LabourNet, 6. Dezember 2005

Schwarzbuch Hartz IV. Sozialer Angriff und Widerstand – Eine Zwischenbilanz

Agenturschluss (Hrsg.) bringt am 2. Januar 2006 die Zwischenbilanz nach einem Jahr Hartz IV als Buch (ISBN 3-935936-51-6; ca. 180 Seiten; ca. 11,- €) bei assoziation a heraus! Vorbestellungen sind jetzt schon möglich (Tel.: 030-69582971 | Fax 030-69582973 | assoziation-a@t-online.de) – wer es nicht abwarten kann, möge schon jetzt schmökern in:

Klappentext http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/asbuch1.html

Editorial http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/arbeit/aktionen/asbuch2.html

In einigen Tagen folgt die Auswertung der Anonymen Umfrage zum Arbeitsamt und zu Ein-Euro-Jobs als Vorabdruck!


Aus: LabourNet, 6. Dezember 2005

"Es war nur eine kleine Meldung: Der Elektrokonzern Philips kehrt in Deutschland zur 40-Stunden-Woche zurück, ebenso wie die Textilkette C&A. Damit setzt sich ein Trend fort, der noch vor zehn Jahren undenkbar war: Die Deutschen arbeiten länger - zum gleichen Lohn..." Artikel von Ludwig Greven in FDT vom 29.11.2005

http://www.ftd.de/ub/in/32426.html


Vorreiter Ostdeutschland

"Was in Westdeutschland immer noch für Aufregung sorgt, ist in den neuen Bundesländern längst der Normalfall: die Beschäftigten arbeiten länger, als es die Tarifverträge erlauben. Die Ostbetriebe profitieren davon..." Artikel von Marleen Jacobs in der FDT vom 01.12.2005 http://www.ftd.de/pw/de/30575.html

Aus: LabourNet, 6. Dezember 2005

Alle Dokumente lassen sich außerdem im Archiv unserer Homepage http://www.die-soziale-bewegung.de ansehen und downloaden.

Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste
Homepage: http://www.die-soziale-bewegung.de
Email: die-soziale-bewegung@web.de

Erinnerung 9. bundesweites Treffen des Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste

Zur Beratung dringlich anstehender Fragen möchten wir Euch für den 10.12.2005 zum nächsten bundesweiten Treffen einladen.

Ort: DGB-Haus, Obere Masch Str. 10, Göttingen, (4 bis 5 Minuten vom Bahnhof)

Anfahrtsskizze:
http://www.die-soziale-bewegung.de/mails/anfahrt_dgb_goe.jpg . Ausführliche Anfahrtbeschreibung in Worten siehe im Archiv unserer Homepage.

Zeit: 11:00 Uhr bis 17:00 Uhr

Tagesordnung (Vorschlag):

1. Lageeinschätzung des Aktionsbündnis Sozialproteste, Berichte aus den Städten
Verantwortlich: Michael Maurer, Wolfram Altekrüger (Einschätzung des Koordinierungskreises lt. Beratung vom 03.12.2005)

2. Finanzen des ABSP und Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten unserer politischen Arbeit
Verantwortlich: Edgar Schu

3. Gegen den Sozialkahlschlag im Frühjahr 2006 (Bündniskonzept der Großdemo, Vernetzung mit anderen Organisationen der Sozialproteste)
Verantwortlich: Edgar Schu (Einleitung und Entwurf des Aufrufes)

4. Gegen die EU-Dienstleistungsrichtlinie "Bolkestein" am 14. Februar
Verantwortlich: Helmut Woda (Einleitung)

5. Struktur des ABSP, Entwicklungen der letzten Wochen
Verantwortlich: Ottokar Luhn (Newsletter/Zeitung und Selbsthilfe), BAG-SHI und Erwerbslosenforum (Selbsthilfe)

6. Der schwarz-roten Koalitionsvertrag und mögliche Schlussfolgerungen
Verantwortlich: Peter Grottian

7. Verschiedenes

Moderation: Rainer Wahls

Hinweis:

Es gibt einen gemeinsamen Topf. Es können bei Bedarf z.B. bei ALG II- und Sozialgeldempfängern 50% der Reisekosten erstattet werden. Bitte vorher Anfrage an: die-soziale-bewegung@web.de

Mit solidarischen Grüßen

Wolfram Altekrüger, Claudio Coladangelo, Renate Gaß, Peter Grottian, Ottokar Luhn, Michael Maurer, Edgar Schu, Detlef Spandau, Rainer Wahls, Helmut Woda

In government documents, he is referred to as "co-conspirator No. 1": a man who gave more than $630,000 in cash and favors to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham for help in landing millions of dollars in federal contracts.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051204/news_1n4adcs.html


From Information Clearing House

THOSE OF US who are true fans of hypocrisy and corruption need to pause and salute Randy Cunningham on his way out of town toward the beckoning slammer.

http://tinyurl.com/b4g2k


From Information Clearing House

FBI agents botched a terrorism investigation in Florida and tried to cover up mistakes, said Justice Department investigators, who also concluded that a high-ranking official retaliated against the veteran undercover agent who first pointed out the problems.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1152AP_FBI_Whistleblower.html


From Information Clearing House

Panel gives U.S. five 'F's in attack-preparation:

Time, money and ever-present terror threats have done little to close gaping holes in the nation's security system, the former Sept. 11 Commission said Monday in accusing the government of failing to protect the country.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-terr06.html


From Information Clearing House

Video: Documentary 'Preventive Warriors':

The film examines a bold new foreign policy paper introduced by the White House in September 2002 entitled: “The National Security Strategy of the United States.” The document outlines a radical new doctrine in American foreign policy: one of so-called “pre-emptive warfare.” The Bush administration used this policy as a justification for the invasion of Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6268.htm

"I am asking the American government to admit its mistakes and to apologize for my treatment,'' al-Masri said in a written statement. "I am hoping that an American court will say very clearly that what happened to me was illegal and cannot be done to others.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5460936,00.html


From Information Clearing House

With his arms held high behind his back he was driven to a plane, thrown on the metal floor and given an injection.

http://tinyurl.com/azb68


From Information Clearing House

CONDOLEEZZA RICE challenged European leaders to back controversial American anti-terrorism tactics yesterday as she robustly defended the CIA’s extrajudicial seizure, transportation and interrogation of thousands of suspects.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,171-1905660,00.html


From Information Clearing House

The group said the information contradicts U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said last week that Shannon had not been used for "untoward'' purposes.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=ac_wVfU3t7So


From Information Clearing House

Assurances by Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, that America did not send detainees abroad for torture were dismissed last night by a cross-party group of MPs as "beyond belief".

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article331462.ece


From Information Clearing House

The absolute ban on torture, a cornerstone of the international human rights edifice, is under attack. The principle we once believed to be unassailable - the inherent right to physical integrity and dignity of the person - is becoming a casualty of the so-called war on terror.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11233.htm

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chastised European leaders on Monday, saying that before they complain about secret jails for terror suspects in European nations, they should realize that interrogations of these suspects have produced information that helped “save European lives.”

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V125/N59/59long4.html


From Information Clearing House

The Munich human rights attorney Georg Note speaks with Spiegel Online about Germany's responsibility and possible repercussions of the affair.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11232.htm

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,388901,00.html


Münchner Völkerrechtler Prof. Dr. Georg Nolte
Institut für Internationales Recht, Uni München
voelkerrecht@jura.uni-muenchen.de

Eleven al-Qaeda prisoners who were held in Eastern Europe have been transferred and were being relocated "to a CIA site somewhere in north Africa," ABC reported, citing CIA sources.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17478342-38200,00.html


From Information Clearing House

10 Out of 11 High-Value Terror Leaders Subjected to 'Enhanced Interrogation Techniques' = Torture.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1375123


From Information Clearing House

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have found no "smoking gun" in Iran that would indicate a nuclear weapons program, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the IAEA, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.

http://tinyurl.com/9v7qc


From Information Clearing House

Couldn't they find more credible witnesses? They were fifteen and ten at the time... it just doesn't make sense.

http://tinyurl.com/9pf4w


From Information Clearing House

Democratic Chairman Howard Dean on Monday likened the war in Iraq to Vietnam and said, "The idea that the United States is going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong."

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Dean_Iraq.html?cxntnid=amn120605e


From Information Clearing House

US-Iraqi troops wage military operation in Ramadi:

Approximately 100 Iraqi army soldiers and 400 US soldiers conducted their offensive, code-named Operation Rams, since Sunday,the military said in a statement.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/06/content_3884813.htm



IRAQ: Hundreds of families flee fighting in Ramadi:

Hundreds of families have fled Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar Province, amidst fierce fighting between US military forces and Iraqi insurgents, according to aid agencies.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/d8c0f5d0cd6df370adb2e9f0deb6b56f.htm



Insurgents dismiss Iraq polls, brace for battle:

"Expect black days. Elections won't change anything. This is a long-term struggle. We will fight for the next 20 years," said Abu Mohammed.

http://tinyurl.com/crw86


From Information Clearing House

Along with other endangered animals and plants, Siberian tigers are part of a unique ecosystem that faces a new threat: a toxic benzene slick headed toward the Amur River after an explosion upriver at a chemical factory in China.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120605ED.shtml

Diplomats trying to salvage international efforts to curb global warming say they will have to dangle more financial carrots and play down the sticks to win support from nations that have so far spurned agreements to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120605EC.shtml

Wind power has far greater potential than previously thought for providing countries in the developing world with access to cheap and clean energy, new data suggests. Already China, environmentally, probably the most important country in the developing world, has enlarged its target for wind energy as a result of the findings.

http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/120605EB.shtml

Some questions can't be answered. People who lost loved ones will never know exactly how the end came, if it hurt, what the final thoughts and words were. But other questions are more tractable. Here are 10 of them.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120605Q.shtml

http://tinyurl.com/dl3wg


Informant: NHNE

While the US has been at it for years, are UK parents ready to use satellite technology to keep tabs on their children?

By Lucy Atkins
THE GUARDIAN,
LONDON
Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005,
Page 9

This week a firm called Teddyfone launched a teddy-bear- shaped mobile phone aimed at four-to-eight-year-olds, just in time for Christmas.

At the same time, it launched the i-Kids satellite mobile phone, which looks a bit like a spaceman and incorporates the latest global positioning satellite (GPS) technology, allowing you to track your child's movements through a secure website -- or from your own mobile phone -- to a radius of 20m to 50m.

These are just two new additions to the latest parenting growth industry: a multimillion-dollar market in new and increasingly flashy "child-tracking" devices.

Using fast-developing mobile phone, wireless, radio, microchip and GPS technology, these new inventions will enable us to keep tabs on our children wherever they are, night or day.

In the UK, for example, child-tracking is currently focused on mobiles. Earlier this year Mymo, the first mobile phone aimed at very young kids, was taken off the market after William Stewart, the chairman of the UK Health Protection Agency, warned that children under eight could absorb too much radiation from mobile phones.

Despite such warnings, however, in March it was reported that the average age of British children owning their first mobile phone had fallen from 12 to eight in only four years, and that more than a million children aged five to nine had a mobile. Mymo was repackaged and relaunched as the Owl phone (an "emergency phone" for children), and if industry predictions are right, another half a million children should be signed up to mobile devices by 2007.

But why? Certainly, around Christmas parents are more likely to cave in to whining requests for a new Baby Annabel, a Tamagotchi or a cuddly animal-shaped mobile phone. But there's more to it than naked materialism. The trend seems to be more about protection than possession: We believe these devices will help to keep our children safe in what is, we perceive, an increasingly scary, predatory world.

And we're prepared to pay.

The i-Kids phone allows parents to select a "Safety Zone Alert" -- an area on the map surrounding the place where your child is meant to be. You are then alerted by text if the phone leaves the zone.

"The world is a more dangerous place than it used to be," says Paul Liesching, managing director of Teddyfone, "and these devices give children more freedom; maybe they'll be able to play in the park, like they used to."

KidsOK, the first mobile child-tracking service to hit the high street, recently became available in shops including Boots, BHS and Toys R Us. To track your child using the KidsOK package, you simply "ping" his/her phone -- it will work on any handset -- by sending a two-word text to KidsOK. You wait a few seconds and a map "pings" back to your mobile showing the location of your child's handset.

The technology is relatively straightforward. When a mobile is on, every minute or so the handset communicates with the network operator to check it has reception and to find the nearest mast. This means operators always know, within a certain radius, where any handset is.

Apart from the obvious fact that your child's handset could be lying in the mud, may have run out of power or been stolen (or removed), there are limitations to current phone-tracking technology: GPS won't work if the phone is in a building or underground, and clouds and trees can also interfere. While standard "cell technology" on mobile phones works anywhere there are masts, it is less accurate than GPS.

The phone network only knows roughly where a handset is by working out a point between local phone masts. This means that in the city you can pinpoint a phone by about 500m but in the countryside it could be a 4km-7km radius.

"These levels of accuracy are peace of mind levels," says Richard Jelbert, the chief executive of KidsOK.

"The product won't stop anything bad happening, or absolutely confirm that all is OK. But it is another tool you can use, alongside texting or calling, to give you the extra ability to check that your child is OK," he says.

Some argue that this is all a bit "big mother-ish" and ultimately pointless given how easy it is to lose a mobile. But according to Michelle Elliot, the director of the UK children's protection charity Kidscape (which endorses KidsOK), tracking technology can be reassuring for children as well as their parents.

"Many children do like the security of knowing their parents are there -- it's about peace of mind for both parent and child," he says.

Indeed, much of this technology is two-way: Last week KidsOK launched "ping alert" (anyone with a mobile can sign up on http://www.pingalert.com ). If you sign up, the number 5 on your child's phone, which has a dimple on it on all mobiles, becomes a panic button. In a sticky spot your child simply holds 5 down and your mobile is sent a map and an alert message.

But all this is distinctly small fry compared to developments in the US where electronic tagging is the latest child-tracking buzz.

In the UK, electronic tags -- or "radio frequency identification" (RFID) tags -- are mostly being used on early release prisoners, or being investigated as a possible alternative to barcodes in shops. In the States, meanwhile, one San Diego company, Smart Wear Technologies, is launching "Home Alarm" next year.

Small, high-frequency RFID tags act as your child's "unique digital ID" and can be simply sewn, like name tags, into pyjamas or clothes. Sensors attached to the doors and windows of your house create "an invisible barrier" -- if your tagged child "breaches the boundary" an alarm sounds.

In Silicon Valley, Wherify Wireless was until recently selling a US$200 watch that picks up GPS signals, as well as a child's GPS -- implanted backpack, priced US$900. These products have now been replaced by its Wherifone -- a small GPS mobile aimed at teens and pre-teens -- largely because parents wanted the two-way calling feature.

Elsewhere, Teen Arrive Alive, Ulocate and DriveDiagnostics have developed special car-tracking devices that use GPS technology to locate the exact whereabouts, speed and direction of your newly qualified teenage driver. Even Microsoft was recently showing off a "cyber-teddy" that "watches" your child with glassy, microchip -- implanted eyes. But do we want this sort of thing?

In the UK, it seems we do. In 2003 a think tank, the Future Foundation, conducted a survey that found 75 percent of British parents would buy an electronic bracelet to trace their child's movements if they could.

"The potential for this sort of technology is huge," says a Future Foundation spokesperson. "The climate is shifting -- we have a whole generation of teens growing up now whose parents expect to know where they are at all times."

It is hardly surprising technology companies are cashing in, agrees Frank Furedi, author of The Politics of Fear.

"These technologies give the illusion of control," he says, and despite the fact that statistically the world is no more dangerous now for children than it was at the start of the 20th century, "fear has become the common currency of life. Nowadays, if you want parents to do anything -- or buy anything -- you simply prey on their fears."

So how scared are we? John Davidson, the chief executive of a Newcastle-based company, Globalpoint Technologies, believes we're ready for the next step.

This month his company released an anti-abduction device called the "Personal Companion" -- a slim band that folds round your child's arm (hidden under her clothes) and uses a combination of mobile phone and GPS technology to enable you to track her within two metres.

If in trouble, your child can simply squeeze the band, which then automatically calls your mobile, allowing your child to speak to you, or if your child can't speak, letting you listen in to what's happening (and, crucially, find out where).

The band is expensive (from ?450) and has the usual GPS limitations, but, says Davidson, "without a doubt this is a mass market for us. The technology is becoming cheaper every day and is developing all the time."

Clearly, then, child-tracking is in its infancy. How far we're prepared to go with this kind of surveillance remains to be seen. But teddy-bear phones are surely just the beginning.

Copyright © 1999-2005 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2005/12/07/2003283401

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Teddy bear mobile ‘puts 4-year-olds at risk from radiation’
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1204405/

Total Surveillance
http://omega.twoday.net/stories/1241187/

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/3733/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

Animation showing Military precision of 9/11 Flight Paths + No Plane Hit The PENTAGON !

Team8Plus- a specialized 9/11 research team:
News Address: http://www.team8plus.org/news.php?item.32


NO Plane Hit the Pentagon.
Address: http://thewebfairy.com/911/pentagon/
Changed:5:56 PM on Tuesday,
July 5, 2005


Informant: ranger116

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1657403,00.html


Informant: Lew Rockwell

http://www.sandersresearch.com/Sanders/NewsManager/ShowNewsGen.aspx?NewsID=1145


Informant: Lew Rockwell

E. J. Dionne Jr.: When conservatives revolted against President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, they proudly proclaimed their desire for a big debate over constitutional principles. Now they are running from the fight.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120605F.shtml

A law that will make democracy all but moot in Ohio is about to pass the state legislature and be signed by its Republican governor. Despite massive corruption scandals besieging the Ohio GOP, any hope that the Democratic party could win this most crucial swing state in future presidential elections, or carry its pivotal US senate seat in 2006, are about to end.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120605D.shtml

Protesters bearing signs that read "The GOP Is in an Ethics Free-Fall" and chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Dick Cheney has to go," greeted Vice President Dick Cheney as he stopped in Houston on Monday to speak at a campaign fundraiser for embattled US Rep. Tom DeLay.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/120605C.shtml